Arts Division
PhD Student
Graduate
Music Center
Stephanie Valadez is a second year PhD student in Cross-Cultural Musicology, with an Designated Emphasis in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies. Mrs. Valadez is a Cota-Robles Fellow and an Arts Research Institute Fellow. In addition to her academic work she currently serves on the UCSC Graduate Student Association Executive Board as the Solidarity Officer. She is the Executive Artistic Director of Xicameri Productions, a 501(c)3 organization that uplifts the voices of under-represented communities and promotes justice and equal opportunity through its thought-provoking music and dance. She enjoys collaborative and multidisciplinary work, and works as a composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. Some of her performances have included Showcase Artist Concert at the Zeltsman Marimba Festival, Reich's Drumming with Steve Schick and the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, and Cage's Branches and Inlets for the opening of the SF Symphony's SF SoundBox under the artistic direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. Mrs. Valadez is an Education Artist for MarimbaOne and enjoys performing on her Izzy marimba. In her free time she practices danza in the Mexica community and performs with the Mariachi Ensemble at UCSC.
Past Education:
Diploma in Performing Arts, Escuela de Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández 2021
M.M. in Marimba Performance: San Francisco Conservatory of Music 2015
M.M. in Composition: San Francisco Conservatory of Music 2014
B.A. in Performing Arts: Music Composition: Saint Mary's College 2012
Language Training and Certification:
Spanish and English: Native Speaker
Intermediate Nahuatl
English Mastery Certification: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Italian Comprehension Certification: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Research interests include music, dance, and ritual practices of indigenous communities in the Valley of Mexico, Nahuatl linguistics and poetics, cultural production, reinterpretation and appropriation of indigenous expressive culture, colonialism, and decolonial practices. Particularly interested in the use of lexical mistranslation and cultural appropriation as clear tools of the colonial project to eradicate indigenous voices, promote cultural erasure, and the enveloping of native epistemologies into a hybridization of Hispanic Catholicism.
Ethnomusicology
Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
Latin American Studies
Mallet Percussion Performance (Marimba/Vibraphone)
Vocal Performance
Percussion Ensemble
Chamber Music
Choir
New Music
2023-27 - University of California, Santa Cruz Cota-Robles Fellow
2023-24 - University of California, Santa Cruz Arts Research Institute Fellow
2023-current - University of California, Santa Cruz Arts Dean's Student Leadership Board
2023 - University of California Regents Fellow
2023 - University of California, Santa Cruz University of the Future NOW Award
2015-current - MarimbaOne Education Artist
2015 - Zeltsman Marimba Festival Showcase Artist
2014-2015 - San Francisco Conservatory of Music Scholarship - Percussion
2012-2014 - San Francisco Conservatory of Music Scholarship - Composition
2012 - Commencement Speaker for Saint Mary's College Latino Graduation Ceremony
2011 - Saint Mary's College Professional Development Award - used to study in Mexico.
2009-2010 - California State University, East Bay Music Department Scholarship- Oboe
2009 - California State University, East Bay Glenn Glasow Fellowship Commission
2009 - Drum Corps International Open Class Champion - Blue Devils 'B' Corps
2008 - Sweet Adelines International Regional Finalist - Pride of the Pacific
2008 - Drum Corps International I&E Competition Finalist
2008 - Winterguard International World Class Finalist - Freelancers Drumline
2021 - “This Is Not Our Home" - Produced by Xicameri Productions, composed by Stephanie Valadez, arr. Nicolas Lell Benavides, choreographed by Stephanie Tobon, Claire Calalo Berry, and Dana Lawton. Recorded by ad hoc ensemble.
2017 - “Transcontinental Sodade" Xicameri Marimba Duo with Warren Wolf and Diego Becerra.
2015 - “Drumming” (Steve Reich) performed percussion at the Switchboard Music Festival. San Francisco Contemporary Music Players - Steve Schick, director.
2014 - “Tren del Fin del Mundo" - Commissioned by Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra.
2014 - “Silence" - In collaboration with Dana Lawton Dances. Performed at the Hot Air Music Festival, San Francisco International Arts Festival, and Latham Square.
2014 - “Branches" and "Inlets" (John Cage), performed percussion for San Francisco Symphony's SF SoundBox opening, Michael Tilson Thomas, artistic director
2013 - “Marimba Concerto for Marimba and Winds" - Commissioned by the Diablo Wind Symphony, Jack Van Geem, soloist. Performances: Lesher Center for the Arts, Sol Joseph Recital Hall, DVC Performing Arts Theatre.
2011 - “El Último Suspiro" - Premiered by members of the San Francisco Symphony, performed by Jupiter Chamber Players, and toured by Dana Lawton Dances through California and Belfast, Ireland.
2013 - “Palomita: Nueva Canción" Xicameri Marimba Duo performed at Sol Joseph Recital Hall (San Francisco), Zeltsman Marimba Festival (New Brunswick, NJ), Morris Graves Museum of Art (Humbolt), and the Cloverdale Performing Arts Center.
