For over 35 years, Valley Keyboards has been expanding the music culture in South Texas. Their strong belief that “every life needs music” is evident from the name of their website to every single thing that they do. This strong passion for music is what has kept them successful over the years.
Valley Keyboards not only sells some of the finest pianos and organs in the Rio Grande Valley, but also has a large curriculum of music classes for all ages. “At the heart of what we do is our love and passion for music education and musical thinking,” said Valley Keyboards founder and owner, Matt Perez. “We believe that every life can benefit from learning to play a musical instrument. That gives purpose to everything that we do here.” All of the educational programs offered at the facilities were created with the purpose of introducing the general public to the wonderful world of music.
The store offers over thirty keyboard classes weekly and has ten highly trained professional instructors on staff. Co-owner Debra Perez, who is one of the most recognized names in the musical education industry, leads all of the training offered by Valley Keyboards. In 1995, she began the building their unique programs when she advertised to teach a piano class for adults in their Piano Gallery store in Corpus Christi, Texas. Her curriculum and teaching programs soon became a success around the country. In 2006, she was invited to participate in the Recreational Music Making Grant by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), in which she spent two years training at piano seminars and companies around the nation.
Debra joined Dr. Will Baily, a composer, arranger and educator, to create a curriculum that would teach anyone who wanted to learn to play music. After working on this project for over 4 years, they created three piano programs comprised of 14 training books. These programs have been used in schools and piano companies around the nation. In the Rio Grande Valley alone, they are used to teach music education in several school districts, including six IDEA campuses, private piano studios and their own classes and summer camps.
These educational services are what have made Valley Keyboards so successful in the Rio Grande Valley. Both Debra and Matt Perez have a strong belief that anybody who wants to learn to play music has the ability to do so. Their mantra “You can play, we guarantee it” exemplifies what they accomplish with every new student or client that walks into Valley Keyboards. They don’t want to sell people a piano or organ that will be just be sitting there –they want to make sure that they teach them the skills to enjoy their treasure.
Valley Keyboards is also one of the largest musical supporters of many young artists in the Valley. They have a beautifully re-designed Recital Hall that can host up to 120 visitors and they allow the community to use it free of charge. Professors and students from various schools and Universities in the Rio Grande Valley and surrounding areas come to the Recital Hall to practice and perform. Their weeklong summer camps offer a great opportunity for children between 4-17 years of age to learn to play the piano in a short period of time. These camps take place in June and July and will train children enough skills to play between 10-12 songs by the end of the week.
When it comes to music and musical education, passion is always an essential element. At Valley Keyboards, passion, expertise, and love for music are what makes them one of the best music stores and educational entities in South Texas. Thank you Valley Keyboards for sharing your love for music with the Valley. To learn more visit their website.
