VALERIE SLY (principal horn) currently serves as Principal Horn of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. She previously held positions as Principal Horn with the West Virginia Symphony, and as acting Third Horn with the Des Moines Metro Opera.
Sly has performed as Guest Principal Horn with the Detroit and Atlanta Symphonies, and in the summer of 2024, she joined the Dallas Symphony on their European tour, and in 2022 performed as guest principal with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in New Zealand.
In addition to performing, Sly serves on the faculties of Samford University and the Alabama School of Fine Arts. In summer 2025 she will join the faculty of Eastern Music Festival.
As a soloist, Sly has twice been a featured artist at the Vermont Mozart Festival, performing Mozart’s Horn Concertos No. 2 and No. 4 with the festival’s chamber orchestra. Her summer festival experience includes fellowships at Spoleto Festival USA, Lucerne Festival Academy, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and the Colorado College Summer Music Festival. In September 2021, she returned to Lucerne as a member of the festival’s alumni ensemble.
Sly holds a Doctorate from the University of Colorado Boulder where she studied with Michael Thornton. She also received a Master’s degree from the Yale School of Music, under the tutelage of William Purvis, and a Bachelor’s degree from Oberlin Conservatory, with Roland Pandolfi.