Anthem Singing
Sarasota Open ATP Challenger
Sylvie was asked to sing for the third year in a row at this wonderful local event where the challengers play for a chance to quality for Roland Garros starting in May. The standard of tennis is exceptional and there are always surprise upsets. It's well worth the day out and you'll see some familiar faces from the Sarasota social scene as well.
Sarasota polo
In April 2024, Sylvie attended Easter Sunday polo with friends but the only memorable event on the field that day was the dropping of 16,000 eggs by three low-flying helicopters for the kids (and adults!) to retrieve. Four days later she wound up being asked to sing the anthem at the match! It was a beautiful evening and Sylvie actually had the chance to learn about and watch this fascinating game.
The world's richest drag race is back!
Delighted to be back at World Series of Pro Mod with its new VIP stand right behind the start line. This place is CRAZZZZZZY! Just love the action, tension and the NOISE man!! Kudos to driver Derek Ward for his amazing win!
We will remember them
This was Sylvie's third invitation to sing for Mission BBQ in honour of our veterans. This time it was for Veterans Day on November 11th and one member of the audience was a 100-year old veteran from WW2. Unbelievable! Of all the events, especially since Sylvie's husband is a 32-year army veteran, these tributes for our warriors are the most special.
9/11 Lest we forget
September 11th 2001 is a date ingrained into the hearts and minds of all Americans and millions of other nations around the world. Mission BBQ chose to commemorate this day for all local solders and firefighters, with the support of Manatee County. It was an incredibly moving occasion and one where Sylvie (and many watching) were brought to tears by the end of the anthem.
Putting our soldiers first
Armed Forces Day on 20th May was the first military-related anthem opportunity for Sylvie, sponsored by the fabulous Mission BBQ on Cortez in Bradenton. This restaurant not only serves possibly THE BEST BBQ in the area, but they are all about the military in terms of the decor, stories and photos from local heroes and the brilliant discounts offered to serving and veteran soldiers.
Take me out to the ball game!
Sylvie was delighted to receive a call from Manatee County to sing at a dedication service on 14th April for a local Vietnam veteran, former teacher and coach, Mr John Carlock. They named the local park baseball field in his honour. And Sylvie gets to sing not just the national anthem but also lead the crowd in the ball game song. Now that's a first from a small town Brit!
Anyone for tennis?
The Elizabeth Moore ATP tennis challenger event was held again at Payne Park in Sarasota from 9-16 April 2023 and once again asked Sylvie to perform the US national anthem. She did so on two separate days and also enjoyed a one-day VIP visit with friends for the doubles final and singles semis.
Vroom vroom
After being headhunted through social media, Sylvie receives an invite to sing the US national anthem at World Series of Pro Mod - the richest drag race in the world, held at Bradenton Motorsports Park. Thanks to the amazing Wes Buck and Nate Van Wagnen @Drag Illustrated and Elon @Werner Communications for this amazing opportunity and congratulations to the winning driver Spencer Hyde.
Debut TV performance
Once an idea is created, it gathers momentum. From tennis to baseball, Sylvie is asked to sing at LECOM Park - Summer home of Major League Baseball team The Pittsburgh Pirates and home to the Bradenton Marauders. And this one made it to live TV!
Dang! She does it again
What starts as an unusual stepping stone into the US music scene, becomes a repeat event throughout the entire week of the Sarasota ATP Challenger tennis event. This is her performance on finals day.
Breaking ground
After a recent international move, Sylvie works hard to find her way in the good old US of A. Intriguingly, she finds herself singing the US National Anthem at a high profile ATP Challenger tennis event in Sarasota.
About Me
It's Never Too Late To Show Up In The World
For more than 30 years, Sylvie succeeded in self-sabotaging her Destiny. But eventually The Universe will find a way to bulldoze the barriers we create. Now that Sylvie has landed on planet Earth, there's no stopping her.
Sylvie's Debut Album Is Out Now!
wide open air is now available across all music purchase and streaming sites. Better still, why not order an exclusive, limited edition, signed CD, mailed directly to your home?
Photo Gallery
Where It All Began
Sylvie Valiente is an English singer, songwriter and pianist. Born in Bath, Wiltshire in 1972, to a Spanish mother and Polish father, Valiente's introduction to music began aged seven with the piano and aged eight with the violin. Valiente followed a classical training path, completing all eight Grades of the Royal College of Music's Associated Board of Examinations in both instruments by the time she was 13. At 14, Valiente started classical singing lessons and completed her Grade 8 aged 17. Valiente had obtained both music and academic scholarships at the age of 11 to Westonbirt School, Gloucestershire, then an all girls school with an emphasis on music. As part of being a scholar, Valiente was required to perform regularly in school concerts. Valiente was also Head of Orchestra and the exclusive Chapel Choir, with whom she regularly sang solos at the annual school Christmas Concerts, vespers, morning mass and also once in Gloucester Cathedral and Malmesbury Abbey in the UK and in Salzburg Cathedral, Austria.
Valiente achieved five 'A' Grades at 'A' Level, one of which was music. One element of the music exam was digital songwriting and this is when Valiente's interest in popular music began. In 1989, Valiente sang backing vocals in the Acoustic tent at Glastonbury Music Festival for Johnny G and his band, requiring special permission from the Headmistress to be absent from school for that weekend, mid-way through her 'A' Level study years. A few months later, Sylvie formed the school band "A Splash of Red" with three other friends, which performed at school concerts and also in the final of a national bands competition held in Brighton late in 1989.
During her gap year 1990-91, Valiente began a side career with Sounds Visual Music, a music production company then based in Devizes, Wiltshire, singing jingles and voicing adverts on local radio stations. This turned out to be quite lucrative and provided her with ample pocket money during her four-year degree course. Despondent after rejections from Cambridge University and The Royal College of Music, Valiente defiantly dropped music altogether, opting to study Italian and Spanish at Exeter University. Valiente graduated with a 2:1 Combined Honours degree in 1995. Hereafter, Valiente's only musical participation was as a soprano in Exeter University's choir and in a couple of choirs in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where she lived for almost 14 years from 2005. Major highlights during this time were when she was privileged to sing in the backing choir for two annual Andrea Bocelli concerts.
Sadly, however, Valiente sold her soul to the corporate world just a few months after graduating from Exeter. And despite attaining many professional honours and qualifications, Valiente never felt fulfilled in her 22-year business life and retired early, in 2017, aged 45.
By then, Valiente had married Jeff Camp and together they decided to retire to Thailand, where her music career began again in earnest. They both quickly became involved with a prominent local rock band in the beach town Hua Hin called Bamboo Heart, with Valiente on keyboards and vocals and Camp on bass guitar and vocals. After a couple of years, Valiente and Camp started the J&M BAND which featured just the two of them playing a combination of easy listening and pop songs hailing from the 1970s until today. Between the two bands, the pair were playing live 3-4 times per week at local venues.
In 2019, Valiente and Camp wrote and digitally released the original song "Holding On" on the back of Valiente's singing audition for X Factor. In that same year, Valiente briefly met Ian Nice, brother to Steve Harley of Cockney Rebel fame, who also played keyboards in his brother's band from 1972 - 84 and whom himself had decided to retire in Thailand 15 years prior. In April 2020, Valiente met a new drummer in town at a local event and discovered that he was recording some tracks at Rocky Head Studios, a new recording studio in Hua Hin that Ian had opened together with his eldest son, Ronnie. In July 2021, Valiente was asked by a fellow local musician, to perform backing vocals on one of the tracks on his new album. This was Valiente's first visit to Rocky Head Studios and spurred the evolution of her debut solo studio album, wide open air, featuring ten cover songs and two originals (a re-release of "Holding On" and "Life Is A Dance", written by Ian Nice). wide open air was released digitally on 17 November, 2021.
Valiente is the youngest of four siblings. She has two twin elder sisters, Marisol and Maria-Teresa, and a brother, Jan-Carlos. Her father Boleslaw was deported from Poland to a PoW labour camp in Siberia as a teenager during WW2. He was liberated and ended up in Palestine until he settled in the UK in 1947. Sadly he passed away in 2005 after a long battle with Parkinsons Disease. Boleslaw was a kind, compassionate man with a wicked sense of humour. He adored his wife and everybody loved him. Valiente's mother Carmen, of Spanish descent, is a beautiful, youthful, vibrant, independent woman. She lives life to the full and is an amazing role model for her children.
Valiente's husband Jeff had a dual career at IBM for 20 years and in the US military National Guard for 32 years. He served in El Salvador, Iraq and Afghanistan. He retired as a Lieutenant-Colonel in 2016. The two met in Dubai in 2014 via the Tinder app, since online dating sites were banned in the UAE at the time. She got lucky! Jeff is brave, determined and one heck of a sexy guy and they enjoy a very doting and respectful relationship with each other. They married in 2016 and have two French bulldogs, Ruth and Gabby.
Despite growing up in a loving, close-knit family, Valiente has struggled with depression and low self-esteem issues for most of her life. After countless hours of counselling over the years, the turning point was completing the Hoffman Process (https://www.hoffmaninstitute.co.uk) in 2013, which started her on an incredibly vulnerable path towards self-discovery, self-respect and authenticity. Facing her demons head on led her to Jeff, to innate joy and back to music, the passion that she was destined to share with the world.
Valiente and her husband relocated to the United States in late 2021 where Valiente has taken to anthem singing at local sporting and County events, as featured on this website. J&M Band plans to make a comeback appearance in the not-too-distant future.