What is your name?
Heather Beaty

Where are you from?
Vancouver, BC

Where do you live now?
Vancouver BC

What instruments do you play?
Flute and piccolo

How long have you played your instruments?
24 years

What made you pick those instruments?
My mother chose it for me. I am a Suzuki Flute baby.

Where did you study?
UBC

If you could have dinner with any composer (living or dead) who would it be and why?
Debussy, and I would talk him into writing more symphonic music, featuring beautiful wind solos.

What is your favourite genre of music, other than classical music?
I love soul music, but lately have been really loving blues and jazz. I also absolutely love bluegrass!! There are so many genres of music I listen to depending on my mood. The beauty of our modern age and a spotify premium subscription!

What is your favourite band?
The Berlin Philharmonic, The Staves, Fleet Foxes, Destroyer, Gregory Alan Isakov, James Blake, Miles Davis... The list goes on.

Other than the KSO, who do you perform with?
I freelance in Vancouver. I play with a few orchestral ensembles there, as well as on the Island and in Prince George. Apart from orchestral work, I perform chamber music with with my flute and guitar duo. We perform many Health Arts performances in the lower mainland throughout the year.

What are some interesting places you have traveled to?
Norway is one of the most beautiful places I have visited recently, but I have to say that one of my goals is to get to know Canada better. I travelled to the Yukon and visited Dawson City for its music festival this past August. It was incredible to spend 17 hours of daylight every day wandering through the historic Canadian town and listening to live music into the wee hours. The Canadian North is filled with unfathomable beauty. I can't wait to go back.

What are your hobbies outside of music?
I'm a hobby baker and especially love designing cakes for momentous occasions in the lives of the people who I love. Apart from music and my culinary hobbies, I am an avid outdoor enthusiast and crave being in the mountains whether it is winter or summer. My next plan is to buy backcountry skis and tackle some great trails and winter camp in the coastal mountains this winter.

What is your favourite flavour of ice cream?
Sour cherry goat cheese from Earnest Icecream

What is your guilty pleasure?
A glass of wine after a long day of teaching music lessons

Do you get nervous? And how do you calm your nerves before a performance?
Yes I do. It is usually when I care deeply about the music I am about to perform. I try to have positive "self talk" and focus on the ultimate goal-- to perform beautiful, soulful, enriching music with my colleagues in the KSO.

Please add anything that you'd like to share with our audience
Kamloops is such a wonderful place to visit every month, and I am so pleased to be a part of this community for my fourth season!