10 Fun Facts About Me
#1- My favorite color is turquoise.
#2- Rarely a day goes by when I don't eat a little dark chocolate.
#3- I have a cheesy sense of humor that my students can, unfortunately, attest to.
#4- I used to live with 2 high personality cats, Dolce and Vegas and a sensitive Great Dane dog and usually had a cat on my lap and/or desk when creating material for the Music for Young Violinists project. If Custard, the 150 lb. dog, could have sat on my lap during this process, he certainly would. All these fur babies have crossed the rainbow bridge but make cameos in many of the videos on the YouTube channel.
#5- I am also an RN (registered nurse) pursuing an advanced nursing degree. I plan to combine the healing powers of creative expression with the miracles of the human body - stay tuned!
#6- I have a passion for collecting inspiring stories and have started a youtube channel to share these.
#7- I am a capoeirista - “A What-ista???” A capoeirista - one who plays capoeira. "OK, but what the bleep is capoeira?" Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art form that combines movement, music and community. It is gorgeous and one of the most poetic expressions of the human form and life spirit I know. We get to stand on our hands and be upside-down (see collage for an example.)
#8- I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin, and in the summers, I worked on farms de-tassling corn. I hated it at the time, but my parents were adamant that it would help me build character. They were correct, and I am so grateful for their guidance in my life and what it has built me into today as an adult.
#9- YES, I am a real person. This is not automated by a computer. YES, it makes my day to get neat comments from people like you all over the world on this website's contact form. I lead a life that tends to get over-scheduled and stressful, BUT I hope this project helps all of us remember what is truly important in this world and how special our teaching and music-making is!
#10- I have 2 pillars that I live my life by:
1- We are here to do great things with the gift of our lives.
2- We are here to serve others.
I hope this project reflects these beliefs. Since I am expanding into an additional career direction (see #5), I started this project to help me celebrate and archive the past 20+ years of my music teaching career. My teaching has been a treasure in my life, and the decision to expand into nursing was made slowly and for a multitude of reasons. I am thrilled that with technology and design yourself websites like this one, I can literally share the teaching materials I have created these past 20+ years with a click of a button. I hope you enjoy these materials, and I hope they keep your life inspired.
If you are curious about the traditional bio stuff like when I started playing, who I studied with and where I went to school, keep scrolling down.
#2- Rarely a day goes by when I don't eat a little dark chocolate.
#3- I have a cheesy sense of humor that my students can, unfortunately, attest to.
#4- I used to live with 2 high personality cats, Dolce and Vegas and a sensitive Great Dane dog and usually had a cat on my lap and/or desk when creating material for the Music for Young Violinists project. If Custard, the 150 lb. dog, could have sat on my lap during this process, he certainly would. All these fur babies have crossed the rainbow bridge but make cameos in many of the videos on the YouTube channel.
#5- I am also an RN (registered nurse) pursuing an advanced nursing degree. I plan to combine the healing powers of creative expression with the miracles of the human body - stay tuned!
#6- I have a passion for collecting inspiring stories and have started a youtube channel to share these.
#7- I am a capoeirista - “A What-ista???” A capoeirista - one who plays capoeira. "OK, but what the bleep is capoeira?" Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art form that combines movement, music and community. It is gorgeous and one of the most poetic expressions of the human form and life spirit I know. We get to stand on our hands and be upside-down (see collage for an example.)
#8- I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin, and in the summers, I worked on farms de-tassling corn. I hated it at the time, but my parents were adamant that it would help me build character. They were correct, and I am so grateful for their guidance in my life and what it has built me into today as an adult.
#9- YES, I am a real person. This is not automated by a computer. YES, it makes my day to get neat comments from people like you all over the world on this website's contact form. I lead a life that tends to get over-scheduled and stressful, BUT I hope this project helps all of us remember what is truly important in this world and how special our teaching and music-making is!
#10- I have 2 pillars that I live my life by:
1- We are here to do great things with the gift of our lives.
2- We are here to serve others.
I hope this project reflects these beliefs. Since I am expanding into an additional career direction (see #5), I started this project to help me celebrate and archive the past 20+ years of my music teaching career. My teaching has been a treasure in my life, and the decision to expand into nursing was made slowly and for a multitude of reasons. I am thrilled that with technology and design yourself websites like this one, I can literally share the teaching materials I have created these past 20+ years with a click of a button. I hope you enjoy these materials, and I hope they keep your life inspired.
If you are curious about the traditional bio stuff like when I started playing, who I studied with and where I went to school, keep scrolling down.
Heather Figi began playing the violin at the age of 4 in a Suzuki Violin program led by Alison Lee Jewer in Janesville, Wisconsin. She received a Bachelor in Music in Violin Performance from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, followed by a Masters in Music in Violin Performance with an Emphasis in Suzuki Pedagogy from the University of Maryland, College Park. She has been a guest clinician at workshops in Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, Oregon and Iceland. Heather currently resides in Eugene, Oregon and from 2008-2017 was a teacher and director of the Allegro Suzuki Violin Studio.
Heather has 20+ years of experience teaching children to play the violin and extensive training in the Suzuki philosophy for nurturing talent. Her dynamic teaching style, organized curriculum and years of experience help students realize their potential while fostering joy and satisfaction in the learning process.
Over the course of her many years of teaching the violin, Heather has witnessed firsthand the power of learning a musical instrument to train focus, increase intelligence, and develop life skills such as perseverance, confidence, and step-by-step mastery. It is with great joy that she combines her love of teaching with her love of composing to create innovative and inspiring materials for young musicians.
Before returning to school in 2010, Heather was active in new music scenes in Washington D.C. and Oregon. You can learn, hear and see her scores here: www.heatherfigi.yolasite.com.
Heather has 20+ years of experience teaching children to play the violin and extensive training in the Suzuki philosophy for nurturing talent. Her dynamic teaching style, organized curriculum and years of experience help students realize their potential while fostering joy and satisfaction in the learning process.
Over the course of her many years of teaching the violin, Heather has witnessed firsthand the power of learning a musical instrument to train focus, increase intelligence, and develop life skills such as perseverance, confidence, and step-by-step mastery. It is with great joy that she combines her love of teaching with her love of composing to create innovative and inspiring materials for young musicians.
Before returning to school in 2010, Heather was active in new music scenes in Washington D.C. and Oregon. You can learn, hear and see her scores here: www.heatherfigi.yolasite.com.
“Any child who is properly trained can develop musical ability, just as all children develop the ability to speak their mother tongue. The potential of every child is unlimited.”
Shinichi Suzuki (鈴木鎮一) 1898-1998
Shinichi Suzuki (鈴木鎮一) 1898-1998
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