Heidi Swanson

​Grade 6 was the first year that Heidi could join band in school. She applied for clarinet, but was denied (EVERYONE wanted clarinet), so didn’t join. A few weeks later, the band teacher called her parents wondering if she would play percussion, because no one had applied to play drums!! The rest is history, as they say. In Grade 7, her junior high band teacher blew her mind by showing her that a xylophone was just a keyboard (she didn’t know xylophones existed), and so began her love of keyboard percussion. Heidi went on to play with percussion ensembles, the Calgary marching show bands, youth and community orchestras, and community brass bands and wind ensembles. She hadn’t played in about 5 years when David Rose (a fellow Biology professor at University of Waterloo) told her about the Stratford Concert Band, which she joined in 2017. Heidi’s favourite instruments to play are keyboard perc, timpani, and “aux perc” (bongos, tom toms, tambourine, triangle, etc), but she also loves playing a march on snare drum to bring back memories of those long days on parade. 

Naming favourite pieces is tricky for Heidi, because there are so many! Her favourite piece to play of all-time was probably John Corigliano’s Circus Maximus. This was memorable because she got to shoot a shotgun (with a blank) from the choir loft in the Edmonton performing arts centre to close the piece (and the lights go black). It was satisfying, loud, and funny.

Conductor (dubiously, during an early rehearsal, tapping baton against stand): Uhhhh, does anyone have their firearms license and a shotgun? 

Heidi: I do! (Heidi works in the Arctic)

Conductor: Should I be scared? 

Favourite Wind Ensemble Pieces: Ghost Train, Divertimento for Band, Incantation and Dance
Favourite Orchestra Pieces: Bolero, Cavalleria Rusticana (sword fight scene), 1812 Overture (THE CANNON PART WITH REAL CANNONS (Fort Henry))
Favourite SCB Pieces: The Witch and the Saint, Theme from Incredibles (bongos), Harry Potter
Favourite Marches: William Tell Overture (really really fast, and on cymbals), Amparito Roca