Heather Beaty’s Biography
Heather is a multi-faceted performing arts professional who lives and works in Vancouver BC on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples–Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. Heather’s musical education began at the age of five when she joined the Suzuki Flute studio at the Vancouver Academy of Music. Heather was fortunate to be immersed in a supportive and encouraging musical environment from an early age, and quickly learned to play the flute in the same manner that many children learn to speak. Heather soon knew that music would always be a part of her life.
Heather proceeded to further her music education with Bachelor ('10) and Master of Music ('12) degrees from the University of British Columbia. During these formative years, Heather studied with some of North America's finest flutists; Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Principal Flutist Lorna McGhee, Vancouver Opera Orchestra Principal Flutist Brenda Fedoruk, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Principal Flutist Christie Reside. Heather travelled across Canada and Europe to participate in the Domaine Forget session in Quebec, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, the William Bennet Summer Music Course in London, England, the Summerakademie at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and Pragwienbudapest Masterclasses in Vienna. During these sessions, she had the opportunity to perform for the acclaimed flutists such as William Bennett, Denis Bouriakov, Peter Lukas-Graf, and Kersten McCall.
Heather will always fondly look back on her Canadian tour with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (’13) and performances of Mozart’s operatic masterpiece Die Zauberflöte with the North Czech Philharmonic (’10) in Prague’s Estates Theatre, the same theatre where Mozart premiered his opera Don Giovanni in 1787, as well as her trio to Central America where she volunteered with the non-profit society MusAid as a Teaching Fellow for the National Youth Orchestra of Belize.
Heather enjoys a fulfilling performance career as a freelance flutist with a number of regional symphony orchestras in British Columbia. She has performed with the Prince George Symphony Orchestra, the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestra, Aventa Ensemble, Kamloops Symphony Orchestra and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Heather has performed as a Health Arts Society Artist in hospitals and care centres with her flute and guitar ensemble Duo Trovador. Heather is the Principal Flute with the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra as well as Principal Flute with the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra.
Heather has also been a devoted music teacher. She was Suzuki Flute Department Head at the Vancouver Academy of Music, as well as a music theory teacher from 2011-2020. Heather loves working with young children, and is in awe of their keen curiosity and courage to explore.
In addition to an interest in music education and performance, Heather is passionate about welcoming the timeless traditions of classical music into new spaces for contemporary audiences. In 2012 Heather founded UBC’s Classical Music Collective Music on the Mind as a self-directed study during her Masters. This collective provided UBC Music students an opportunity to perform concerts in unique venues around campus, outside of the UBC School of Music designated performance spaces. Heather attended the Banff Centre’s “Concert as Theatre” and “Concert in the 21st Century” artistic residencies to further this concept. In April 2017, Heather completed an Advanced Certificate in Arts and Entertainment Management from Capilano University as a means to further her expertise in this field.
Some recent career highlights for Heather include her performances of “Sounding the Sophia” in November 2018 where she had the opportunity to conceptualize, develop, and create a performance project about the 1918 loss of the SS Princess Sophia steamship off of the coast of Alaska. The concert was presented in Mountain View Cemetery where over 100 of the shipwreck victims were laid to rest.
Heather is proud to have incorporated a non-profit society “Seagrass Music Society” with her partner Molly MacKinnon spring 2020. The society aims to demystify and modernize the way in which audiences consume classical music. Seagrass also seeks to amplify female, non-binary, queer, BIPOC composers and performers, and believes in applying a critical lens to the where, why, and who of classical music. Fall 2019 was the premier of the society’s first concert series “Concerts on Tap” which combined the duo’s love of classical music and craft beer for a series of unique programming in some of Vancouver’s favourite breweries. Details here.
Heather looks forward to a future of presenting more concerts for Vancouver audiences that explore unique and compelling stories with meaningful and beautiful music. She believes that classical music has relevancy in the past, present, and future by means of curious and creative concert conceptualization.
Since 2021 Heather has taken a brief pause in her career to pursue the wonderful and rewarding task of motherhood. She welcomed a baby girl, Celeste, in 2021 and a second baby girl, Alison, in 2023. Heather and her husband are raising their girls in East Van amidst music, love and chaos. Please still be in touch! Heather is still working freelance whilst procuring childcare.