Poet * Lyricist * Writer...


                                                               Heather has been writing stories, skits, and poems
                                                        since childhood;it was a favorite pastime that engaged her
                                                   imagination and entertained her friends and family.  

                                      In high school, she began creating lyrics and writing skits and scenes
                                    that were primarily performed through the school's drama club,   
                                     of which she was an active member.  She worked as a summer intern at
                                     Eugene O'Neill Theatre, where she observed and stage managed new     
                                plays and musicals presented by competition winners.  She was a member
                            of her high school's writing club, Inner Visions, and also explored writing
                                and acting in community based workshops and drama camps.
                                  Two of her poem written during high school won prizes.  

                       
                          While in college, Heather wrote, designed and performed in a + 2 hour  
play/musical about her own adoption story, which she chose to symbolically set as a fairy-tale (The
piece had previously been attempted as an 'opera' during an independent study in High School).  
During her college years she created the texts and lyrics for many of her performance art pieces
and vocal compositions.  Heather also explored the possibilities of using text in non-traditional
ways in pieces like her "Mascara Massacre" and "The Weather Wheel".  
         
   Her master's thesis was a multi-media piece which made use of the text and ideas from
Jonathan Kozol's book "Savage Inequalities". The book, and her book-inspired project of the
same name (used with permission), highlighted the neglect, discrimination against, and struggles
faced by our country's poor public schools- particularly those in the state of New York. Using her
music, theatre, dance and writing skills to make social critiques and promote equality  gave new
meaning and power to her artistic pursuits.  In September 2006, she staged and performed three
scenes from her "Mascara Massacre" as part of Girl Fest Hawaii's
anti-violence against women campaign.


* Lyricist *

In 1999, when she began working as a church organist,  Heather began exploring the creation of
music and lyrics to serve the various needs of the churches she and her friends worked in. She is
currently composing several different settings of the Latin Mass as well as editing and
self-publishing several original works for the church. Her lyrics are described and listed below.

      
The Poet  (Click link for Poetry Page)

    Her primary contributions as a writer have been to the genre of poetry; she has written over
600 poems. Heather is actively seeking to complete and publish four chapbooks simultaneously. In
2005,  she was selected to be a poetry recording artist for a soon to be released CD series, which
would accompany William Roetzheim's poetry anthology; "The Giant Book of Poetry."  She is now
seeking to publish her first children's book; a narrative poem about a wonder-filled, traveling poet
in a plane. Her experiences in theatre and in reading poetry, have given her an admiration for the
power and magic of words- which keep slipping into her music!

To commission lyrics for a musical work, please use the contact page.




Original lyrics used in her vocal works:

   "In the woods"

"If I only had the time"

"Dans le bois" (French version of 'In the Woods')

"Tis Winter"

"You and I"

"The Upside-down Nursery" (from The Mascara Massacre)

"I've got a pounding in my head" (from 'Cisum')

"Recipe for the Perfect Woman" (from The Mascara Massacre)

"Hymn of Faith"

"A Light Amidst the Gloom"                        

"Quoting the Classics"- set scats

"Ode to Pope John Paul II"

"A song of Farewell"



   Non- original Texts set:        
      

"How Now?" (selection from Shakespeare's Hamlet)

"Time does not bring relief"- Edna St. Vincent Millay
"Fonte del Sole, sonetti e altre liriche" - Danielle Ambrosini (Florence)

  Various orchestrated Scenes (from the new musical "Crazy Mary")

 "Kyrie" (from the Latin Mass)

 "Agnus Dei" (from the Latin Mass)      

"Cantata in B Major" - a setting of Psalm 136

 "The Weather Wheel"

            -set fragments of famous poetry, Christmas Carols, & original text        
       

 "Savage Inequalities*" - based text from the J. Kozol's book;
             Savage Inequalities (used with permission)

   "Voices in my head"
            - based on popular commercial advertisements



           (More to be added. Thank you for your patience)...
Poet/Lyricist/
Writer