You are here: Home / Archives for Heather

Surprise Song: Let the Bride in Your Life Know That You Care with a Song Just for Her!

February 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

We all have our favorite songs, and sometimes our favorite songs don’t fit neatly into the event that we’ve planned. Luckily, this pesky little problem doesn’t have to mean you’re relegated to a musical menu of Ave Maria’s and Canon in D’s.

Special music doesn’t have to just happen at the wedding ceremony in a certain way, and opening up the places to infuse your life with song can create a really memorable journey into your next phase of your relationship.

If you’re looking for a fun and memorable way to say “I love you” to the bride in your life, sending her a surprise song can be a really special way to do just that.

Who Sends a Surprise Song?

  • The groom-to-be can send one to his glowing fiance
  • A member of the immediate or extended family
  • A friend who wants to do something a little different
  • You tell me!

When to Wield the Surprise Song:

  • At her office – Yes, like a singing telegram. I show up with a recording or a musical buddy in tow and we serenade her. I’ve always loved this. (Don’t worry, there will be no Gorilla Grams!)
  • At the rehearsal – as the officiant runs through the order of events, she doesn’t need to know that the song I’m about to run through is a special one just for her and not on the program she’s approved.
  • At the rehearsal dinner – (and my personal favorite!) Gathering, mingling, schmoozing, hugging, toasting, eating, thanking, smiling…take a pause and give her three minutes to sit back and breathe in the moment while she’s transported to another time and place and we sing to her.
  • At the actual wedding ceremony – for the bold and courageous only, and only when armed and ready with tissues! Depending on the song selection, this might result in tears, but can be a powerful move nonetheless.
  • After the first dance – That song that isn’t right for your first dance together might be the perfect musical tribute to her and your relationship.

Email me at heather@heatherhightower.com with the plot and song you have in mind, and we’ll take it from there.

Filed Under: Packages, Uncategorized, Weddings, Funerals, Sacred Ceremonies Tagged With: , , , , , ,

A Song a Week Project v. 2 “One Hand, One Heart” from West Side Story

February 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The song I bring you this week is one of my favorite duets, brought to you from one of the best musicals…EVER: West Side Story.

Need an hour to get your spirit revved up and then let your tears pour out? Yep, West Side Story is it.

 

 

The Song: “One Hand, One Heart”  from the Broadway musical “West Side Story.” This interpretation of Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet” musical stands the test of time, and this particular duet is from when Maria and Tony (the play’s star lovers) profess their love for each other. I sang it for my sister’s wedding back when I was a high schooler. I love how her part floats high up into the rafters while the dramatic piano part gets the soul stirring. Get the tissues now!

The composer: Leonard Bernstein

About the recording: The recording of this duet is from a recital I put on last summer at a progressive country church in Covesville, Virginia. My friend, Dan Stern, actually a baritone who handled the tenor part fabulously, joined me for the fun. Pianist, Linda Blondel, is adeptly tickling the ivories. Virginia Arts Recording Studio captured the sound in this resonant, one room country church with tall ceilings and historic, old, tall windows.

Just another example of why Leonard Bernstein rocks: Check out this make-you-jump-out-of-your-seat version of the Mambo dance scene from West Side Story. In fact, it’s not just the composition that makes it so awesome – it’s the conductor , Gustavo Dudamel, and his Venezuelan Youth Symphony Orchestra that make it a totally stirring rendition. So fast! So energetic! So makes you want to infuse the classical world with this amount of passion! Watch them dance and play the heck out of this dance song. Mambo!

 


 

Why this post? I’ve committed to putting up a song a week on my blog – this is my second week and I realized that this undertaking it actually quite significant! So, while I set myself up for a year of posting success, I’m pulling this one out of the archives. Rob Richmond and I are going to continue to post contemporary songs, and we’re excited to share those with you over the coming weeks.

Filed Under: A Song A Week Project Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Live and Sing with H.E.A.R.T

February 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

“Live and Sing with H.E.A.R.T.”

Take the dilly-dallying out of voice lessons while learning the

non-musical skills that make ‘singers’ into ‘stars’!

What is this?

“Live and Sing with H.E.A.R.T.” is a unique opportunity to set a firm foundation for singing success while carving a distinct place for music in your life over the course of 3 months (March-May 2012)

 

Who is this for?

This is for you if you want to:

  • Feel more comfortable performing, whether it’s by yourself or in front of others
  • Chart your own musical path, keeping it meaningful, personal and rewarding
  • Get crystal clear on how singing can fit into your life on a more permanent basis and what you need to do to get there
  • Overcome hidden obstacles that may be slowing you down or getting in the way
  • Feel refreshed, re-energized and renewed sense of optimism towards life and your creative spirit.

 

What does this include?

  • 10 1-hour private vocal coaching sessions
  • 5 2-hour non-musical Group Coaching Intensives
  • Online group forum for connecting, supporting and masterminding with peers
  • Step-by-Step map and tools that will allow you:
    • Feel totally at ease to opening up your voice whether it’s on stage, or in front of friends
    • Define your musical dreams and how they relate to your “real life”
    • Take real action to chart your own musical path NOW instead of waiting for “a sign from the Universe” that it’s the somehow the “right time”
    • March – May 21012

 

I’m not sure I understand…could you tell me a little more?

Instead of just taking weekly lessons that may or may not keep you on track to getting what you really want to get out of vocal coaching, you are cordially invited to step it up a notch and make the next three months really count!

 

“H.E.A.R.T.” is my 5-Step Map that demystifies the “rest” of all the things that go into singing your best while also letting your natural, joyful, musical essence seep into the rest of your life. Each step in H.E.A.R.T. covers the mindset skills, body awareness and applied techniques that I find that many vocal students are missing.

 

The structured format and group coaching gives you the opportunity root powerful techniques and tools into your psyche, while increasing your musical I.Q. and performance ability. The online forum gives you a place to connect with others who are also diving into their relationship with singing in a new way, too. The tools and step-by-step guidance I give you during our group coaching sessions give you the road map for turning ideas into action and empower you to convert “little ideas” into achievements.

 

In other words, my 5-Step H.E.A.R.T. Map is my really sweet way of delivering really deep stuff that, over time, will make your singing effortless and your life more joyful! Sweet!

 

Perhaps most importantly, this is only for you if:

  • You are ready to commit your time and energy to deepening your relationship with yourself and your voice
  • You are ready to show up, fully present and contribute to yourself and others
  • You are open to discovering new aspects of yourself and for supporting others in doing the same

 

Why would I want to do it this way instead of just taking regular lessons?

It’s not uncommon to finish 6 months of weekly vocal training, look up and wonder what on earth you accomplished. This program makes sure that does not happen!

 

In almost 20 years of studying and performing, I’ve found that without structure and clearly defined next steps, it’s very easy to not take full advantage of the opportunities to shift and grow as a vocalist. The problem is, it can be hard to get this kind of support!

 

While your voice may improve, you may or may not be aware of, or know how to master, the “inner game” of performing. While you are progressing musically, you may not have the inner game of keeping your creative and musical spirit alive in your day-to-day living might be challenging you. You may not know what is going to happen next or how you’re going to progress in any real, “tangible” way, or maybe you even look at your checkbook, feel burdened by having to remember this financial responsibility every week and wonder why you keep writing so many checks…because “what’s the point?”

 

I’ve designed “Live and Sing with H.E.A.R.T.” specifically to eliminate this potential financial and emotional drain and to set you up to get the most out of the next three months.

 

When you finish, you will be clearer on your musical future and empowered with a stronger relationship to your instrument. You will have newly developed mindset tools that will enable you to make smarter musical choices over the course of your life and career – whether your career involves music or not. These same tools will also support you in living a heart-filled, good-feeling life. The power of the collective group creates a powerful energy that promotes insights and breakthroughs that you simply do not achieve in a 1:1 setting. You will actively develop and implement your own “Map to Your H.E.A.R.T.” – your action plan as it relates to singing and your life!

 

 

This sounds awesome, Heather. How can I join?

Just shoot me an email me at heather@heatherhightower.com – and if you’d like for me to call you, include your phone number – and I’ll send you pricing information!

Filed Under: Vocal Coaching Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Everything I Need to Know I Learned from my Voice Teacher…and other deep teachings for life.

February 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

“To know and not do is to not know.” – Buddha

In fact, I’m not sure if Buddha can take the credit to this quote, or another philosopher. Perhaps it should be attributed to my voice teacher.

Every time I see my voice teacher I tell her she needs to write the book on life.

Some of the greatest gems of life wisdom that I have gained have been profoundly entrenched and ingrained through my body, specifically through my work studying and developing the voice. My voice.

Up and down we run through this nefarious nether region of the voice and connected web of energetic body parts. We trill, we hum, we sigh and squeak and smooth over through registers. We train it to open up higher, to support from the lower, and to co-exist harmoniously somewhere colliding from different angles in the middle. We push, we back off, we perfect it to blend into the ideal conditions of force, support and complete and total allowing.

It’s an amazing sensation to suddenly have the knowing within you of something of which you may have been trying to gain understanding through a book, a seminar, or a workshop.

It is instead understood – for me – through the portal of our voice.

It all makes sense as we – my voice teacher and I – endeavor to achieve and allow the most beautiful of sounds possible on any given day.

Yesterday, as I had my lesson, the deep thought presented itself to be soaked in on one of the Bflats in a phrase of “Bist du bei Mir” by J.S. Bach.

This Bflat presented itself to me amidst many other more interesting notes. It doesn’t sit in a particularly yowza section of my voice, and so it’s tempting for me to back off of it, close it off, squeeze it out, or otherwise not pay it attention.This creates sound problems and overall phrase problems. I don’t get to where I’m going with the resonance and effect I seek.

In an attempt to do the opposite of that, the Bflat received too much attention from me.

As Pam said,

“Don’t bottom out. Keep it tall. It is neither a destination or a stopping point along the way.”

In other words, don’t let its position detract from the point of the phrase, don’t give it too much or too little attention, and keep your focus and position right where it needs to be for the overall goal of the song.

 

Filed Under: Deep Life Thoughts from my Voice Lessons, Vocal Coaching Tagged With: , , ,

A Song A Week Project v. 1 “Bless the Broken Road”

January 30, 2012 By 14 Comments

I’m happy to celebrate my first official post for the “A Song A Week Project”!

Wohoo!

Song:“Bless the Broken Road”, co-written in 1994, made popular by Rascal Flatts, performed here by me, Heather Hightower, and Rob Richmond, owner of Bay1Studios. Rob is also responsible for mashing it all together (tracks, harmonies, video clips) and turning into a YouTube music video. Rob, you rock.

(having trouble viewing the video thumbnail? Try this link: http://youtu.be/12660m5lLOI)

The source of my inspiration to record this song….

Two weeks ago I participated in the Elegance in Bridal Show. I met beautiful women, supportive fiances, loving mothers and efficient wedding planners. It was a really fun day!

Amidst the bustle, one couple stood out.

This couple paused to tell me how much luck they’d had that day. They were so nice we kept chatting for a few minutes. Not long after connecting, he opened up and shared with me the story of how they first met.

They were teenagers. He looked over to where she was standing and fell in love with her instantly. Life went on. He never told her his feelings. As adults their lives went separate ways. Not long ago, they reconnected. He finally expressed what had been on his heart through all the years, even when it was only just a quiet glow of a feeling.

They’ve been dating ever since and are now getting married.

As they stood there, we formed a triangle of electricity. The hair on my arms stood on end.

Chills ran through my body and I said, “That’s like the song ‘God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you!”

We smiled, they left, and I went home thinking about their beautiful story.

I thought about how nice it would be to sing that song, just as an extension of the inspiration I felt by having met them.

I’m not a country singer by any means, so I looked for a version that would fit my voice nicely. I found this version by Selah.

The next day I met Rob Richmond, owner of Bay1Studios. It just so happens that Rob is a gifted guitarist and prolific artist. And tech savvy savior. Three days later, in what I thought was going to just be us catching a quick YouTube video off my iPhone, Rob went to work recording tracks (on his iPhone, people!), laying down harmonies, and over the weekend produced this video – the very first for the “A Song A Week Project.”

 

So, to the couple who touched my heart, thank you.

If you are reading this and have something on your heart to express to someone, I hope today is the day you breathe deeply and find the courage to express your deepest of feelings to the person waiting to hear your words and feel your love.

Filed Under: A Song A Week Project Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Introducing the “A Song A Week Project”

January 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Introducing the “A Song A Week Project”

Starting this week, I will produce/sing/record/share a song to be listened to and viewed on my YouTube channel once a week. Because perfection is is the enemy of good (as a wise friend once told me), I am making it a rule that it is more important to be in the flow of making and sharing music than to obsess over its perfection. The intention of this project is to create great music and give you great musical examples of my voice.

“A Song A Week Project” Rules and Regulations:

- That it must be fun

- That it must be imperfect

- That it must be beautiful

- That it must be shared on my YouTube channel (hlhightower)

Here’s where the fun starts, and here’s where you come in:

I’m looking for musical partners. I’ve already started to team up with the genius musicians who are infiltrating and inhabiting local businesses in Charlottesville, Virginia. My first month’s goals involve getting up musical clips that reflect the wedding ceremony repertoire I love (classical or classically infused music).

If you have a song that would be a great match for me, and falls outside of the classical category, that’s ok. Email me the song, the arrangement you want to follow, what part you envision me singing, how you want to participate, and I’ll let you know if it is something that serves my highest purpose in getting my voice out to the world and my peeps!

What you get when you participate as a musical colleague or production guru:

For the fruits of your efforts and expertise, you will get:

- Mention of you and your company and your latest promotion on my blog

- Facebook and Twitter love to my social network (I will tag you or your company in my post)

- The blog post will be sent out to my exclusive list of followers who opt-in to receive updates from me

 

If you’d like to participate, email me at heather (at) heatherhightower (dot) com

In fact, in an excellent example of “Ask And It Is Given,” within a day of opening up to the idea of regular, imperfect music making and sharing, I not only met a new musical colleague who offered to lay down the guitar tracks, he totally exceeded my expectations an produced a video, recording two guitar parts, two percussion parts, a harmony line and THEN producing the video. My first ever YouTube “music video” – you know, with multiple camera angles and everything – is going live next week.

Why this project?

Two weeks ago I attended a retreat with a conference room full of passionate, purposeful entrepreneurs. We spent two days getting clear on where we want to go this year, what we need to do to get there, and most importantly for me, making choices on how we want to get there. We come together again in May to update each other and take our businesses to the next level…again.

In those two days I grew extremely clear  on a few things.

For one, this year it was time for me to step into my zone of genius around music-making and make music as much as possible on a daily and weekly basis, keeping music as the cornerstone of goal-setting and not letting it fall by the wayside behind the “shoulds” and “coulds” and “it would be a really clever idea to’s.” (You know, those “really great” ideas that leave you spinning your wheels, wondering where all your hard work took you to at the end of months worth of hard work.)

Secondly, I grew clear that it’s time to employ marketing practices that are fun for me to undertake. I decided I wanted to engage my followers in ways that actually make me giggle with pleasure, that highlight my creative juices, and spread the fun and value at the same time.

Thirdly, in order to let you get to know me and my voice, I realized I absolutely *had* to get more musical clips on line!

Naturally, the optimal outcome of these insights is that I must meld the music with the marketing more frequently.

And…it’s going to be fun!

My 20s were filled with such amazing life experiences. Traveling to Guatemala, Colombia, Honduras, Venezuela, living with the Mayans in the remote highlands of Guatemala, teaching music, teaching in foreign languages, falling in love, falling in love again, learning how to date, falling in love again, spending quality time with my family, sharing intimate times with friends, learning new businesses and skills, physical miracles within my own body, sharing miracles with other incredible souls from all over the world…this list of amazing experiences and accomplishments goes on and on.

My mastermind colleagues emphatically pressed the point that I had to get musical clips on line.

They were right.

My inner Recovering Perfectionist crept up. She started feeding me impossible visions of impossible hours of impossible recording studio times with musician colleagues who would feel burdened by the task of supporting me. Gah! Burden! I could already see the invoices piling up with money I hadn’t prepared to spend. Already this vision was a black hole.

Just as I felt the Perfectionist Tide threaten to sweep me out, far away from Creative Bay and into the the Depths of Doom and Despair, I decided that for a few days at least I could float on my lifesaver of breath and see what would happen…what ideas would decide to come rolling in. Hopefully these ideas would be sexy, like the lifeguard who was on his way to rescue me from my own potential intellectual drowning.

Then, last week, amidst my floating (and check-list destroying worker mania goodness), a brilliant idea hit me.

So, I have to also to share with you my excitement of having this idea - this fun idea - for me. Not for another business, not for a stranger I just met, not for a friend, but for me. That in and of itself was a sign of the creative opening! Success had already been attained. As I breathed even deeper, the tide was washing me into Creative Bay’s shoreline, sun-kissed salty hair and everything.

I look forward to sharing my music and musical collaborations with you!

I look forward to your email at heather (at) heatherhightower (dot) com 

 

Filed Under: A Song A Week Project Tagged With: , ,

How to Keep Singing Your Song, No Matter What They Think

January 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

When I hear you sing, I become a joyful song
Boundless, without limits, like the kindness of God.
Rumi ♥

When I read this quote, posted onto my Facebook wall by a massage therapist friend of mine, it made my heart swell with love and gratitude. My eyes perked up for a second like, “Oh! She sees me! I’m seen! This is the best feeling!” This sweet awe and wonder is how I feel every time I sing and someone thanks me, or hugs me, or comes to me with tears in their eyes. I feel so honored and blessed to be able to share song in such a way. It’s the biggest thrill for me, and I’m pretty sure it’s the most meaningful offering I have here on Earth (well, I like doing lots of other stuff, too).

You know this feeling – the sweetness, the connection between two souls that happens when you’re in your sweet spot and offering it to the world. You recognize it when it’s happening.

But sometimes it’s easy to wonder, “What will they think?” if I dare to prioritize this action of singing and the actions necessary to bring it into the world. “Do I really deserve to be feeling so good every day?” “Shouldn’t it be harder?”

I suspect there are a lot of you out there: Incredibly Musical Souls (IMS) who have been stuffing down their inner music for a long, long time.

If you’ve ever found yourself questioning the release of your gifts, or if you’ve been feeling really uncomfortable in your body lately, then you might need a dose of cosmic reality check.

Here’s How to Keep Singing Your Song, No Matter What They Think:

Let me clarify what I mean by “Incredibly Musical Souls.” You can be an Incredibly Musical Soul even if you lack desire to physically sing, or even if you really don’t desire to Make Music. Music is the fabric of the universe, sound is its gentle, persevering thread, and vibration is how we define that thread. You are vibration, you are sound, you are music. You are so many beautiful things all rolled into one, and music, define it as you will, is what I consider to be an expression of the inner longings of the soul – expressed somehow, somewhere, outwardly.

Basically, you’re an Incredibly Musical Soul.

So, IMS, let’s go. It’s time for you to sing your song (literally or figuratively), and here’s how to do it, no matter what they think:

1. Give yourself space to sing. Even among us classically whipped folks, this can often be the hardest thing to do. Space! Who has SPACE! Who needs SPACE! We cry. You do, and it’s up to you to make it. (First, you might need to Admit Your True Love and Restore Your Creative Genius). I still have to consciously block off time on my calendar to simply vocalize. How awkward it can feel when there’s another person in the house, or a neighbor close by…but you have to do it, otherwise the sound never escapes your body.

2. When you sing “badly”, keep singing. So often we think, ‘Nah, I don’t deserve to sing,” or “I’m not good enough to sing,” or “Nobody wants to hear me sing.” And the result of this stuffed energy is that it’s coming out in perverted, weird ways – an inflamed thumb, a tight back, clogged legs, or stiff necks. You in turn think your body is failing you, when in fact, it’s just jumping up and down saying, “Please! Pay attention to me! You must let this energy OUT!”

3. Be gentle on yourself with your voice critics.

4. Give yourself the mental freedom to imagine a different reaction from your friends.

Do you often wonder how  you going to stay in “that” space – that space of beautiful creation and sweet energy glow -  and if you dare to get into that space, how is the world going to react? What will they say? And your head goes on imagining all sorts of worst case scenarios? Maybe they’re throwing you off the collective bus, you’re ex-communicated from your support network, they hang you out to dry….maybe the persecution dreams come right on up again. Before you get sucked into all of that mental drama, take a cue from Osho and consider locking yourself in a room with a recorder and speak for a hour. After you capture all the gunk that’s coming out of you, you might realize how much garbage you let infect your beautiful brain. Guh! Gah! Get it out! Purge! Blech. Paaaaaahhhh. Ok, so much better.

5. Pray. But the right way.

A friend of mine is good about sitting down to pray for others at night before he goes to bed. He sits there and he prays – and he’s praying that the people who’ve been struggling around him in his life get what they want. Last night I sat down to do this and…it’s hard at first. I found my mind bouncing around to things it wanted to find wrong (with my body), distracted.

But after a few minutes I started to hone in on someone in my life and I imagined that he had the outcome he wanted. And then I imagined my girlfriend with her business thriving. And then I imagined another person healthy and happy.

Then I turned to myself and I saw myself with my business booked full, and my friends cheering me on. I imagined and took the time to feel the beautiful ripple effect of my musical offerings into the world, the delight on people’s faces, the ease in their bodies, the joy within my own body. The truth is, this is probably what’s happening anyway, but when you’re in fear, you can’t feel their positivity. You can’t access the wonderful ju-ju that’s out there rooting for you.

So get praying, but the right way, slipping yourself into the kingdom of heaven (or whatever visual works for you).

And here’s the thing with praying – what you’re seeing in your head is your prayer. If you’re seeing a negative picture, a worry or a fear, you’re in part picking up on the vibration that’s out there and you’re in part adding to it and creating that vision. HOLLA! That’s a good reason to slip back into that warm fuzzy feeling space and redirect your attention to your yummy vision, no matter how awkward it feels at first.

 

And pretty soon, you’re going to find that more magic is happening around you. Because you’re creating the magic with your song. 

Filed Under: Let Your Voice Out Tagged With: , , ,

Find Your Voice, Let Your Voice Out and Discover Confidence Through Voice Lessons!

January 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Me, in Colombia, South America 2009

 

Are you…

  • Looking to sing for the first time?
  • Hoping to gain confidence in your ability to sing?
  • Uncomfortable because you know that you really can sing, but when the moment counts, suddenly you clam up, your heart starts beating faster and the sound that comes out you feel like doesn’t fully represent you?
  • Wanting a safe environment to connect with your individual instrument and discover it fully?
  • Maybe even wanting to perform – perhaps as a soloist, or in an ensemble – and take your performing to the next level musically?

Then get in touch!

People with whom I’ve worked have reported…

  • A sense of openness within their heart and soul
  • A renewed appreciation and respect for their voice as a powerful instrument
  • New skill in caring for their instrument – before, during and in between singing
  • Greater confidence and ease in letting their voice out!

It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginning singer, a practiced singer who’s a little rusty, or just looking to have a fun and get to know your own voice. My approach to voice lessons is holistic – your instrument is part of a greater whole and often we can achieve an incredible release in sound from an angle you might not have anticipated. Together we’ll dive into a realm of vocal exercises that will stretch you and infuse you with song from the inside out.

When you do have specific repertoire you’re working on, all you have to do is bring the pre-recorded accompaniment (I don’t accompany on piano) and we can work the pieces ’til they’re performance ready and you’re confident about stepping in front of the audience.

My belief is that of my own childhood vocal coach, Bill Hall’s, philosophy: technique comes from beauty of sound.

I work with you to develop healthy sounds for your specific instrument, growing it and stretching it and giving you the tools to support it over time.

For younger voices, I believe this approach is very important so that we can avoid falling into the technique pit of trying to sound more mature than the voice actually is.

For adult voices, we often find that we’re developing a whole new awareness of your incredible instrument and building in ways to nurture and care for it in your every day life.

Email me at heather (at) heatherhightower (dot) com with the answers to these questions:

- Your age
- Your voice part
- What is motivating you to study voice now?
- What do you most need out of your teacher?
- What have you done in the past to achieve these musical goals? (include a brief description of your past vocal study)
- On a scale of 1-10, how important is it to you to make these changes now?
- What do you like best about vocal instruction?
- Anything else you’d like me to know

About me….

I’ve traveled a lot in the last 5 years. I taught music in the highlands of Guatemala back in 2006, and I’ve been in and out of a backpack ever since.

Teaching a choral workshop in San Mateo Ixtatan, Huehetenango, Guatemala

For awhile, it was hard to do anything that wasn’t directly related to a spiritual goal of mine to write and publish this book:

 

"The Conscious Girl's Pocket Guide to Backpacking" (www.consciousgirlsguide.com)

Now that the book is published and I’m happily planted in Charlottesville, Virginia, I’m thrilled to finally have my own studio to take in vocal students!

My home studio. Nice and cheery, surrounded by plants, light and crystals. :)

 

To learn more about my philosophy on music-making, check out my “About” page – it’s written for my wedding clients, but it gives you a good taste on how I see music and the musician’s role and possibility for transforming any space!

 

I look forward to hearing from you! Email me at heather (at) heatherhightower (dot) com

Filed Under: Vocal Coaching Tagged With: , , , ,

Elegance in Bridal Show 2012

January 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Well, just a little shout out to say that I will be showing up  at the “Elegance in Bridal Show” at the Omni Hotel, Sunday January 22!

Here are some snapshots from the Charlottesville Wedding Classic January 8, 2012:

My booth for the Charlottesville Wedding Classic on January 8, 2012 at the Boar's Head, Charlottesville, VA

Doesn’t it look nice? I brought my house plants because I love the jungle, the lushness of green and air and all things life. I did, however, get a few people asking if I was a plant vendor. Whoops. And, thanks to Sarah Cramer’s awesome photography, all wonderfully enlarged by Stubblefield photo lab, a few others thought I perhaps was a photographer. Whoops, nope!

I made a Note to Self to get my name blown up with the word “vocalist” in big letters, but the last two weeks were so busy preparing for and attending Christine Kane’s Gold Academy Mastermind with 75 other purposeful, passionate women entrepreneurs, that I didn’t get it done. Oh well. Instead, you’ll see ME, looking something like this:

Nope, I'm not a plant or photography vendor, I'm Heather! And I'm here to make your wedding ceremony sparkle with magical perfection, through music.

 

Last time I gave out free sample CDs, but I’m doing things a little differently at this show. So all the ladies tomorrow (all who stop by and sign up on my sheet) are going to get a brand new, special free gift from me sent directly to their inboxes.

Last time I had free chocolate, free dream wedding assessments, free CDs, and a door prize of a half price wedding! Ooh la la! And, some of my pet rocks. They're not really my pets. I just enjoy them.

 

Somehow, with a boyfriend and a few late night movies, my Hershey’s miniature chocolate supplies have mysteriously dwindled….I’m going to have to see what I can do about that tomorrow morning.

"Hi, I'm Heather and I'm a classically trained vocalist!" I'll have a few of these CDs tomorrow - if you really want one, ask me for one and I'll give it to you from my special stash.

 

If you’re at the show, please stop by my booth and say hello! And, brownie bonus points if you can name the jeans I’ll be wearing….

 

Love,

 

Heather

Filed Under: Weddings, Funerals, Sacred Ceremonies Tagged With: , ,

My New YouTube Channel

January 11, 2012 By 2 Comments

Hi there!  I have a new YouTube Channel under the YouTube username “hlhightower”

The Channel: http://www.youtube.com/hlhightower

This above clip is the same song as found on an earlier post, HERE. But, now it’s just easier to share and enjoy. Yea for  YouTube! I hope you’ll also enjoy the pictures taken from my last 3-month trip to Guatemala. These particular photos in the clip above take you to Rio Dulce, at a quiet hotel nestled on the edge of the rainforest and the river…where lush branches beckon you to sink into yourself and love….

Once you land on my YouTube main channel page it will say, “Heather Hightower’s Channel (hlhightower). I hope you’ll visit and follow me there, too!

While I’ve been performing all my life (well, since age 5 in the cherub choir), I haven’t been actively recording the whole time – I’ve been busy healing from what had been called an incurable illness, traveling and seeing the world, and writing a book, which was just published!

I’m excited to get uploading and recording some new music so that you can get to know me better musically. I’ll be making my audio clips into iMovies (just learned today how to do that) to feed you with some new material.

In the meantime, thank you for your patience and understanding in the totally hand-held iPhone recording approach and a cappella renditions of some of my favorite songs.

Filed Under: Hear me sing
« Older Posts