Dr. Heidi Hernandez has honed her craft to perfection as an artist and musician, playing the harp for over 30 years and enjoying every aspect of her diverse musical career. From solo concerts for various organizations and extensive orchestral playing, to leading HarpSynergy, the harp ensemble of her current and former students, to performing internationally and competing at the highest level around the world, there is no area of expertise lacking from all of the rich experiences her playing has afforded. As an orchestral player, she is highly sought after in symphonies across the United States, receiving invitations to play with the New Mexico Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, Tucson Symphony, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Fort Smith Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, and The Phoenix Symphony with whom she has performed regularly for the past 20 seasons. Heidi competed in the Arpista Ludovico International Harp Competition in 2005 in El Escorial, Spain, the Lily Laskine International Harp Competition in Paris, France in 2008, and the 2007 and 2010 USA International Harp Competitions, where she competed as one of 2 Americans in the top-17 in the world stage 2. Other performances have included touring China with orchestra, and performing in Spain, Switzerland, and most recently Lichtenstein.
Dr. Heidi's private studio includes online and in person students ranging from age 6 to 76 currently, and hailing from across the state and nation to as far away as Australia. Dr. Heidi loves encouraging her students on their journeys as individuals as well as musicians, in a nurturing environment that gives them the benefits of being part of a growing thriving community of harpists with a common love of the instrument, music, and each other as a team. HarpSynergy has played at various private and public events, most notably Las Noches de Las Luminarias at Desert Botanical Gardens for the past three years.
Dr. Heidi grew up in the Midwest and received her undergraduate degree in Harp Performance from Oklahoma City University and her Masters of Music and Doctorate of Musical Arts from The University of Arizona under Dr. Carrol McLaughlin, where she was her Graduate Teaching Assistant and taught as her sabbatical replacement. She is currently adjunct instructor of harp at Grand Canyon University and lives with her husband and their 4 children in Phoenix Arizona, where she enjoys teaching her children educationally and musically in their pursuits of piano, harp, and drums.
