Valerie Bobbett Gardner (born December 14, 1947) is an American violinist, pedagogue, and author.
Birth and early years
Valerie Jeanne Bobbett was born on December 14, 1947, to parents Dr. Gordon Howard and Oreon Cameron Bobbett in Boston, Massachusetts. She was raised in Florence, South Carolina, in a musical household, her mother being a violinist and her father a clarinetist.[1] Valerie began studying violin at age 8. At age 11, she received lessons from Peter Kurtz, a violinist who had taught Oreon Cameron 35 years earlier and who was visiting Florence upon the request of the Bobbett family.[2][3] Valerie began teaching violin lessons at age 15. Valerie served as concertmaster of the South Carolina All-State Orchestras throughout her Junior and Senior High School years. Her summers were spent at the Brevard Music Center and at the Meadowmount School of Music as a student of Ivan Galamian. She also studied with Jerrie Lucktenberg and Elaine Richey during this time.
