HEATHER LEWIN
Musician:
Heather Lewin plays violin, viola, cello and sings.
Current Bands:
Athas (Irish Traditional tunes & songs)
Dairyland's Finest String Band (Old-Time & Blues)
Brewtown Brewgrass (Bluegrass & Old-Time)
Blackthorn Folly (Trad tunes, Celtic Rock, & Pub Songs)
Dance Musician:
Heather loves playing for dancers. Past dance styles include Slovak, Contra, Square Dancing, Scottish, Renaissance Court, English Country, Ceili, Irish Set Dancing, & Improvisational.
She's a Feis musician (Irish dance competitions) & Feis Music Competition Adjudicator. She has also recently written an online guide for traditional Irish musicians interested in learning how to play for Irish dance competitions, called Musicians Guide to Feis.
She's a Feis musician (Irish dance competitions) & Feis Music Competition Adjudicator. She has also recently written an online guide for traditional Irish musicians interested in learning how to play for Irish dance competitions, called Musicians Guide to Feis.
Teacher:
Heather offers private lessons on violin, viola & cello both online and in-person in the Milwaukee area at Family Music Center and Celtic MKE. She is an instructor for the Milwaukee Irish Fest School of Music, and has taught workshops at venues around the country.
Composer:
Heather enjoys composing fiddle tunes, orchestral arrangements, songs, and poetry. Some of her fiddle tunes have become quite popular in sessions around the world. Heather also enjoys collaborating with other composers on new works of music.
Recording artist:
Experienced in-studio and remote recording session artist. Click here for partial discography.
Education:
Heather graduated from Milwaukee High School of the Arts, then attended UW-Stevens Point to study Music Education, and later went on to earn degrees in Anthropology, American Indian Studies & Celtic Studies from UW-Milwaukee.
Heather began studying fiddle styles in 1998 after getting involved with International folk dancing. Her love of learning, mixed with her desire to travel & explore, has motivated Heather to attend hundreds of workshops and festivals to study the diverse cultures & fiddling styles of the world. She has been honored to learn from many amazing musicians in multiple genres and is excited to pass along the tunes and techniques that she has acquired along the way.
AWARDS:
Heather was the Miscellaneous (Viola) Champion in the Adult division at the 2006 Midwest Fleadh Cheoil and went on to compete in the 2006 All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Letterkenny, Ireland.
She was the Champion in the 2012 Midwest Fleadh Cheoil in Fiddle Slow Airs and competed in the 2012 All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Cavan, Ireland.
Heather was honored to be the 2007 recipient of the Ed Ward Irish Music Scholarship, which she used to attend the Frankie Kennedy Winter School in Donegal.