Born: February 12 1919, Guyana
Died: 1970
Country most active: Guyana
Also known as: NA
Valerie Muriel Rodway was a composer of Guyanese cultural and patriotic songs, inspired by the events surrounding Guyana’s independence in 1966. With her husband, she wrote the anthem Guyana the Free, and is known for composing music to accompany Guyana national poetry, including Arise, Guyana, Kanaïma, and Let Freedom Awaken. In the following decades, school children were taught songs that she and others composed to inspire patriotism and cultural affinity.
She has been considered Guyana’s greatest composer of patriotic and national music, and ranks among the best composers from Guyana of the century. She was posthumously awarded the Wordsworth McAndrew Award in 2002 and in 2019, she was awarded the Cacique Crown of Honor, one of Guyana’s highest honors. The National Trust of Guyana building in Cummingsburg, Georgetown, was named the Valerie Rodway House in her honor.