Harpist Heidi Bearcroft has classical music in her DNA.
Consider her family tree. Heidi grew up in Pittsburgh where her dad was co-principal oboe with the symphony for over 40 years. Her maternal grandfather was a leading American bassoonist and pedagogue, her paternal grandmother was a concert pianist and her aunt plays first violin with the San Francisco Symphony. To top it off, her great grandfather was in the chorus of A Night at the Opera - the 1935 Marx Brothers movie.
Her mom, who still plays principal harp in Pittsburgh, kept up a busy playing and teaching schedule even when she was pregnant. Heidi believes that by experiencing music in utero, she fell in love with the sound of the harp before she even knew what she was hearing.
While still an infant she travelled the world with her parents when they were touring with the Pittsburgh Symphony - eating baby food on the Great Wall of China, watching locals drink snake blood in Taipei, riding a camel in the Canary Islands.
Heidi started playing piano at three, and harp at seven.
She mostly studied with her mom before moving to New York and earning both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School of Music. While still in her teens, she made her debut as a concerto soloist and won a number of major national competitions.
Today, Heidi is among the top orchestral musicians in North America. She plays principal harp with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, where she has been for over a dozen years and has also played with the Pittsburgh, Mariinsky, and Manitoba Chamber Orchestras.
Heidi finds infinite satisfaction in exploring the instrument's sound palette. Her fingertips make direct contact with the strings; for her, music-making is intimate and visceral. She can feel the sound blossoming from the core of her body and loves being the conduit for this special kind of musical energy.
“Music is just wired in my psyche and heart,” she says. “I truly can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be on an orchestral stage for the rest of my life.”
When not on stage, Heidi teaches privately in her backyard studio and coaches students at the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music. She instills in them the musical principles she lives by - always engage completely with your work, prepare thoroughly and never play anything on auto-pilot because every note is important. She believes that prioritizing mental health is as essential to excelling as a performer as maintaining physical and emotional well-being.
“I feel most myself on stage,” she says. “I adore sharing my music with audiences. I feel as if I am always on the edge of my seat (harp bench!) And it’s the best seat in the house.”