Victoria Theodore is a Composer / Pianist / Singer who’s toured the world with Stevie Wonder & Beyoncé. She’s the pianist for the Oscar winning Best Motion Picture CODA, featured in Stevie’s DVD “Live At Last”, in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s debut film, “Tick, Tick, BOOM!”, and in the Oscar winning documentary “Twenty Feet From Stardom”. She was pianist & singer for the 2013 Arsenio Hall Show and is a composer for two Broadway-bound musicals: MARIAN & CO-FOUNDERS. Victoria’s new project EnSPirits is a collaborative Alternative Jazz /R&B project between herself and partner Dave Tweedie.
Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips recently interviewed acclaimed LA based pianist, educator, composer, singer and performer Victoria Theodore as part of NAMM’s Oral History Project. NAMM has kindly granted us permission to create an Australian Musician edit.
MORE ABOUT VICTORIA THEODORE
Victoria Theodore is an acclaimed LA based pianist, educator, composer, singer and performer. Her debut album of original music, “Grateful”, was released September 1, 2015! “Grateful” demonstrates Victoria’s musical breadth, with songs that include elements of Jazz, R&B, Pop and hints of Classical.
Victoria joined Stevie Wonder’s touring band as a keyboardist and background singer in August 2007. She has traveled around the world with Stevie, performing for President Obama for his 2nd inaugural celebration in 2012, Queen Elizabeth for The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee concert Live at Buckingham Palace, accompanying Stevie and other musical icons of every genre. Victoria is also featured in Stevie’s DVD “Live At Last”, and is seen in the Oscar winning documentary “Twenty Feet From Stardom”. Stevie Wonder Performing at The Diamond Jubilee Concert
In early 2016, Victoria was hired as the keyboardist for Beyoncé’s Formation World Tour. Victoria was also called upon to play piano with Beyonce for the Kobe Bryant memorial in 2020
When Arsenio Hall came back to television in 2013, Victoria was chosen to be the keyboardist in the band, Posse 2.0. Victoria had the opportunity to perform with an amazing group of musicians: Music Director, Robin DiMaggio, bassist Alex Al, guitarist Rob “FONKSTA” Bacon and multi-instrmuentalist/singer Sean Holt, creating incredible musical moments with a wide variety of artists, including Gladys Knight, Earth Wind & Fire, Joe Satriani, Nathan East, Randy Jackson, R Kelly, Trombone Shorty, Flo-rida and Lil Jon.
As a freelance musician, and through her work with Stevie Wonder and on the Arsenio Hall Show, Victoria has performed with artists such as Sting, Prince, B.B. King, Tony Bennett, Esperanza Spalding, John Mayer, and Bay Area legends such as Sheila E., Ledisi, Dwayne Wiggins (Tony! Toni! Toné!) and Tony Lindsay (lead singer for Santana). Victoria has accompanied classical artists such as soprano Hope Briggs, tenor Robert Simms, and worked with conductors Marika Kuzma, Michael Morgan, and Deidre McClure and for several Bay Area classical organizations and ensembles.
She’s the pianist for the Oscar winning Best Motion Picture CODA, featured in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s debut film, “Tick, Tick, BOOM!”, and in the Oscar winning documentary “Twenty Feet From Stardom”. She is a composer for two Broadway-bound musicals: MARIAN & CO-FOUNDERS.
Victoria’s new project EnSPirits is a collaborative Alternative Jazz /R&B project between herself and partner Dave Tweedie. Victoria is currently an endorser of the following companies: Dexibell / Proel.