Timothy Heavner moved to Pittsburgh in the fall of 2012 to accept a teaching position as the Choral Teacher at Sewickley Academy, and he is now enjoying a new position as the Band Director. Since moving to Pittsburgh, Mr. Heavner has worked extensively with the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh as a singer in the professional core, accompanist, and rehearsal assistant; he was the Assistant Conductor of the Jr. Mendelssohn Choir for four seasons, and he has recently completed his second season as their accompanist. He currently serves as the Music Director and Organist at the Community Presbyterian Church of Ben Avon.
Mr. Heavner moved to Pittsburgh from New York City, where he maintained a busy career performing and teaching. He taught as a choral director at Friends Seminary, the Allen-Stevenson school, and the Manhattan School of Music; additionally, he served as the Accompanist and Assistant Conductor of the Hudson Chorale and has appeared with the West Village Chorale as a guest conductor, singer, accompanist, and percussionist. As well, Mr. Heavner was active as an accompanist and vocal coach for auditions, recitals, and masterclasses.
Originally from Anchorage, Alaska, Mr. Heavner has worked as an accompanist and assistant conductor for the Anchorage Concert Chorus, the Alaska Chamber Singers, the Alaska Festival Chorus, and the University of Alaska’s Jazz Singers and University Singers. Mr. Heavner was the Chorus Master, Assistant Conductor, and Man-of-Many-Hats for Anchorage Opera for over ten seasons. Mr. Heavner has helped prepare choruses for Fiora Contino, Manfred Honeck, Karen Keltner, Mstislav Rostropovich, Gerald Steichen, and Stephen Sulich, and he has performed in masterclasses with Stephanie Blythe, David Daniels, Peter Eldridge, Lauren Flanigan, Jerome Hines, Warren Jones, Martin Katz, Catherine Malfitano, Richard Miller, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Dave Samuels, Janis Siegel, Carol Wincenc, and Brian .Zeger. Mr. Heavner holds a degree in Piano Performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Peter Takács and David Breitman; as a student, he served as Choral Assistant for both the Oberlin College Choir and the Musical Union under Hugh Ferguson Floyd. Mr. Heavner has pursued graduate studies in Vocal Accompanying at the Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of Ken Merrill.
