Heather Schmidt’s unique dual talents as a pianist and composer have garnered praise from the press, describing her as "a brilliant virtuoso pianist”, “poised and utterly musical”, “a great artist", and "as much a pianist in the professional sense as she is a composer". Her career spans performances, broadcasts, commissions and awards in Canada, the United States, Russia, France, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic, England, Cyprus, Mexico, Brazil, and the British West Indies.
Originally from Calgary, Heather currently divides her time between Los Angeles and Toronto. Heather began studies in piano and composition at the age of 4. She studied at Juilliard and at Indiana University, where at age 21, she became the youngest student to receive a doctorate. As a virtuoso pianist, Heather is in demand for recitals, chamber and concerto performances, and recordings. Her recent NAXOS recording features solo piano music by Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel. As an acclaimed composer, she has received commissions and composer residencies worldwide. Heather also composes scores for film and television. Recently, she was featured in “Synchronicity” on BRAVO television.
Heather teaches at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and guest teaches throughout the world. She is also a “performance coach”, helping individuals in music and other disciplines achieve optimal performance through stress management and performance enhancement strategies.