Over the next few weeks I’m going to be interviewing some of the newer members of the LCH choir, and will ask them what brought them to LCH. One of the first persons to respond was Heidi Shimada, whom Carl first met as a preschooler (!) at Queen Emma Preschool where her mom is a teacher. Heidi sang many solos at St. Andrew’s Priory and in fact, was the first recipient of the Crosier Music Scholarship at graduation.

Here’s what Heidi said about herself:

Heidi Shimada found out about the LCH choir during her senior year in high school at the Priory, when she participated in the St. John Passion. Upon completing her B.S. in Nuclear Medicine Technology at the University of Vermont, Heidi returned to the islands to work at Castle Medical Center. She then contacted Carl Crosier, because she wanted to sing in a choir again and improve her sight reading skills with her friend, Nicole Masaki (also an alumna of St. Andrew’s Priory). Nearly three years later, Heidi and Nicole are still members of the soprano and alto sections, respectively, in the LCH choir. When Heidi first joined the choir, she felt overwhelmed by the pace of a church choir due to her poor sight reading skills. Since then, she feels that her skills as a musician have improved, although she regrets that due to the sheer volume of music, she cannot memorize all the pieces as she did when in high school. Each week she is amazed by the “never give up” spirit of the choir and has found a new appreciation for atonal music.

We are glad to have both Heidi and Nicole on board!