Soprano's style not an easy tune to categorize
By Cary Ginell soundthink@aol.com

Valencia Vas

Newbury Park resident Valencia Vas has come to a turning point in a life marked by her love of music. Her first album, "Reflections," was released on March 1, and now a single from the album, "When the Sun Comes Up," is being played on radio stations across the country, as well as on XM radio. But the 30yearold's blossoming singing career has been anything but an overnight success.

Born into a poor family in northeast Pennsylvania, Vas began playing musical theater at the age of 9. At 14, she was getting paid for singing and acting in summer stock musicals such as "Man of La Mancha" and "Annie." Turning to Shakespeare in high school, Vas added classical acting to her repertoire, and she studied singing with a vocal coach.

In time, she learned opera and art songs, winning competitions and enrolling in NYU's Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting. Today, Vas sings in more than a dozen dialects and languages.

The tall, willowy Vas has exotic good looks, but what makes her even more appealing is her intelligence and her confidence in her abilities.

"When I got to NYU, I realized that it was so concentrated with acting that I really missed singing, which was my primary gift," Vas said. "So I transferred to Westminster Choir College to study strictly in a conservatory environment of music."

Vas got her first role in an opera at 20, an age almost unheard of in that genre. While at Westminster, she won all the competitions she entered, which she credits to her ability to be a performing singer.

"It's not just about the voice anymore; you have to be a performer. You have to be able to believe these characters. You can't just 'park and bark' anymore."

Vas participates in the writing of her songs. Her collaborator is Ludek Drizhal, a Czech-born composer whom she met while studying in USC's music program. Together, Vas and Drizhal combine elements of their respective musical experiences.

In "Reflections," the song "Lullaby" is a variation on the traditional folk song "All the Pretty Horses." Another of her songs is based on the American pioneer ballad "Shenandoah." The other songs on the album are as varied as Vas' background, including a tango, a completely improvised piece based on "Dido's Lament" by English composer Henry Purcell and even a Chilean folk song. Vas described the wide range of styles as "me playing with different colors of my voice. I've learned all my rules, and now I'm learning how to break them."

Vas talked about two of her favorite songs from the album.

"The song 'Home' is sung from the point of view of a military wife whose husband is overseas, and she doesn't know when she'll see him again. Another song, 'Remembrance,' is a reflection on 9/11 and the experience of possibly getting a cellphone call . . . what that moment is like. It's a lot of small moments that inspire the overall sensation of a feeling."

Such a varied palette makes Valencia Vas hard to pigeonhole, and she's all too aware that radio programmers and concert promoters will be trying to place adjectives in front of her name to describe her style.

"We've been calling it 'crossover classical,' kind of the Andrea Bocelli audience," Vas says. "Mostly females over the age of 38 is the target demographic. But people are already saying, 'Are you classical? No. Are you jazz? No. Are you pop? No.' I'm just somewhere in between. But it just takes a few people to say okay and that's where it starts to build on itself."

At a recent performance at a coffee house, a member of the audience figured out what Valencia Vas was.

"You're the soul soprano," he said.

"I picked up on that," said Vas. "I liked it."

As a wife and mother of two, Vas realizes that success could disrupt the peaceful "Thousand Oaks experience" she's been enjoying.

"Life is the way you make it. And you make priorities and you make choices. I maintain perspective and set up boundaries. Like every Friday, I have a date with my children."

Although she's looking forward to her kids playing soccer and doing other things Conejo Valley youngsters do, Vas expects them to become as independent as their mother is, adapting through experience. If Caesar's Palace calls and asks Valencia Vas to replace Celine Dion, she may have the world's first 4-year-old roadie.

Vas will be performing at the Borders in Simi Valley on Sat., Aug. 18 and the Borders in Thousand Oaks on Fri., Aug. 31. Both shows are at 8 p.m. Her website is www.valenciavas.com.