Venezuelan Singer/Songwriter, Bass Player and Producer based in Liverpool, UK.
Originally from Maracaibo, Venezuela, Maria's musical influences ranges from latin music styles such as boleros, salsa, etc to anglosaxon-Pop music.
Maria Valencia was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela on the 18th November 1982. Since she was a little girl she had shown a fair inclination to music and the performing arts. At the age of 9 she joind the School choir and three years later she started playing the piano, the bass guitar and the acoustic guitar. At the age of 14 she joined Opus Novum, a renowned semi-professional choir in Maracaibo. After leaving school she decided to take her bass playing further and joined CEMUSICA, a music school run by the most prestigiuos musicians in Maracaibo and Venezuela alike. She took bass lessons from Tomas Aquino Font, bass player and producer of "Los Bacanos". In 2002 she left her home to develop her music skills in the UK, stopping in the London Music School, where she took a course in Music Technology that trained her in the arts of recording, editing and digital creation of music. A year later she fulfilled her dream of finally being admitted into the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, co-funded by the ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney. After a year of excelling in modules such as Performance, Songwriting and Production she had the opportunity to have a private class with McCartney himself, who praised her skills as a songwriter. She completed her Degree as a Bachelor of Arts in Music 3 years later.
In 2006 she auditioned to become a member of the prestigious Sense of Sound choir in Liverpool and was accepted becoming a very valuable member of the group. Being part of this choir has given her the chance to meet and sing along music luminaries such as Ringo Starr, Damon Albarn, Seal, Bon Jovi, Brian Eno, Rufus Wainwright, Imogen Heap, Russel Watson amongst others.
She was part of the creative team behind "The Long Walk" concert in Liverpool in March 2008. She has also been on tour with Manchester-based metal band KatBGini. She's currently playing bass for the female trio "Lonesome Georginas" based in Liverpool.
Apart from her music career, she has participated in many drama activities at her school and was part of "Xona Joven", a TV Variety show directed for young people, where she developed her skills as an actress, presenter and all-round entertainer.
Maria is an avid Sports fan, attending as many matches as she can of her favourite football team, Liverpool FC. She is also a big Film fan and never misses the chances to pay a visit to her local cinema.
She is currently living in Liverpool. Her favourite band is The Beatles and she is open to participate in many kinds of Performing Arts events.
Current activities includes:
Lonesome Georginas=Bass Player/Backing Vocals
Sense of Sound Choir= Singer/Guest Arranger
Maria Valencia= Singer/Songwriter/Arranger/Guitarist/ Producer/Engineer/Caterer/Stylist/Shrink/etc. :)
Hope to see you around ;)
