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Valerie Rodway
Composer

Valerie Rodway

Famoose for

Setting Guyanese national poetry to music.

O Beautiful Guyana · Arise, Guyana

Born
12 February 1919
Birthplace
New Amsterdam
Died
August 1970

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Valerie Rodway

Valerie Rodway was a Guyanese composer and music teacher whose songs became part of the country’s cultural repertoire.

Early life

Musical childhood

Grew up in New Amsterdam in a large family and developed her piano playing with several local teachers.

Career

  1. Teaching

    Georgetown

    Taught music at St Ambrose Primary School.

  2. 1960s

    National songs

    Set poems to music around Guyana’s independence.

Selected work

O Beautiful Guyana

Set Walter MacArthur Lawrence’s poem.

Arise, Guyana

Set a poem by J. W. Chinapen.

Let Freedom Awaken

Set Martin Carter’s independence poem.

Beyond work

Family collaboration

Married James Rodway in 1958; they collaborated on Guyana the Free.

Sources & photo creditBiography and career ↗Biographical references ↗

Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.

Photo: Creator not stated; see image source. Source credit retained; reuse licence not established · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.