Valerie Muriel Rodway | |
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| Born | February 19, 1919. |
| Died | August 1970 (aged 51) |
| Occupation(s) | Composer of cultural and national music |
| Known for | Patriotic Guyanese compositions |
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Valerie Muriel Rodway (February 12, 1919 – August 1970) was a Guyanese composer of cultural and patriotic songs, inspired by the events leading up to Guyana's independence in 1966. She is best known for composing music to accompany Guyana national poetry, like Arise, Guyana, Kanaïma, and the Martin Carter's Guyanese Independence poem Let Freedom Awaken. For the next two decades, school children were taught the songs she and others composed to inspire patriotism and cultural affinity. She selected the poetry for her compositions based upon her principles and values, first developed among her parents and siblings.
She has been considered Guyana's greatest composer of patriotic and national music,[1] and among the best composers from Guyana of the 20th century, generally and among composers of classical music.[2] She was awarded the Wordsworth McAndrew Award posthumously in 2002. In 2019, she was awarded the Cacique Crown of Honor, one of the highest honors of Guyana. The National Trust of Guyana building in Cummingsburg, Georgetown, has been renamed the Valerie Rodway House in her honor.
She was married multiple times, yet had no children of her own. She was described as a caring, good mother by her stepdaughter, Dr. Cicely Rodway, the daughter of James Rodway. James, her second husband, created Guyana the Free with her. She taught music at a school in Georgetown, Guyana, and was a pianist known for musical collaborations with other renowned Guyanese musicians.
- ^ "Reconnecting with his musical uncle". Daily News. August 4, 2019. p. 24. Retrieved February 27, 2020 – via newspapers.com (clipping).
- ^ Cambridge, Vibert C. (May 21, 2015). Musical Life in Guyana: History and Politics of Controlling Creativity. University Press of Mississippi. pp. PT345, etc. ISBN 978-1-62674-644-2.