Heather

> Contact Heather

Heather is a dedicated music and performing arts educator with over twenty years of teaching experience. She earned her Bachelor of Music from Westminster Choir College after studying musical theater at East Carolina University. Heather has taught voice, piano, and acting to students of all ages and abilities, including those with autism, physical disabilities, and developmental differences. Her individualized approach emphasizes creativity, resilience, and joy in music-making. Recognized for her excellence with honors such as Westminster’s Merit Scholarship, she now performs original music with her husband at festivals across Florida.

Monday 10am-12pm and 1pm-7pm Eastern Standard Time
Tuesday 2pm-7pm Eastern Standard Time
Wednesday 2pm-7pm Eastern Standard Time
Thursday 11am-7pm Eastern Standard Time
Friday 2pm-6pm

I believe that every single person on the planet has the innate ability to become a musician or an actor, and I approach teaching each one of my students differently to that end. Each student has not only her own goals and aspirations, but also her own background, experience, learning type, and abilities. My students received customized, personalized instruction that values them as individual persons, and not numbers.

I earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Westminster Choir College in 2003, specializing in voice and piano, after studying musical theater at East Carolina University.

I have taught both group and one-on-one music and acting lessons for over twenty-two years.

Share
Facebook X (Twitter) Pinterest
Heather
$138.00 USD

Subject Expertise

View all collections
Instruments
Instruments
Music
Music
Piano
Piano
Public Speaking
Public Speaking

My mission

Having had a disadvantaged childhood, and living in underserved communities most of my life, I am dedicated to contributing to my own community now by being a positive and encouraging performing arts instructor. I had many harsh and impersonal teachers in many of the low income communities that I lived in, and those same teachers inspire me, every day, to be a different kind of teacher, one who adapts not only to different student on different days, but also truly to listen to each student's needs and goals.

My Story

Growing up in a U.S. Navy family, I moved around a lot, and it was hard to make friends, but the friends that I did make became lifelong ones. Being on the autism spectrum, I always felt different from other kids, but I have a close and supportive family. I graduated high school and entered college at 17, studying music and theater in North Carolina. My dream school was a small music conservatory in New Jersey, but it was expensive and difficult to be accepted. I had never had formal, private music instruction, except for a few voice lessons, but I had always attended public schools and participated in chorus. With the support of my parents, I got accepted into and graduated from that dream school. Afterwards, I began teaching private performing arts lessons, in singing, piano, acting, and songwriting, in Virginia to students of all ages. It's been my joy to do so, and I've never stopped.

Cognitive Diversity

How I adapt to students with diverse intellectual needs.

I have a tremendous amount of experience in teaching students of different abilities, including children on the autism spectrum (from mild to severe) and without sight or hearing, and adults who are physically and developmentally challenged. One of my students was an elementary aged boy, who had half of his brain removed at birth, due to epileptic seizures. He had no control over the left side of his body, and yet he defied the odds by learning how to play piano and sing with me for years.

I estimate that about 60 percent of my student base has ADHD. In my experience, children and adults with ADHD perform, process, and learn much better and more easily when they're engaged in some physical way, such as through dance or other movement. For instance, drawing a melody line with me, the teacher, is more efficient than simply listening to the melody or seeing it drawn.

Heather Sample Lesson

Push play to get an inside look at Heather's Tutoring Sessions