Press

Parvoz Magazine | Somon Air | Summer 2019
Interview with American Piano Player

Parvoz: Hello, Jennifer! Could you tell us about yourself? A little bit of background, how did you happen to be in Tajikistan?

Jennifer: I grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, studied music at Michigan State University and attended graduate school at the Cleveland Institute of Music, a leading conservatory in the USA. After working as a professional musician in Cleveland for nearly a decade I moved to Rome, Italy and taught English to Italian Generals in the Air Force. Refreshed from a yearlong hiatus from music I found myself back at the piano, teaching at an international school and performing with opera divas...
(full article)

The New Indian Express Indulge - April 26, 2019
Interview - Pianist Jennifer Heemstra and violinist Patrick TS Yim to trace the ancient Silk route at their concert From Hessler to Hindustan

NEXT week, get ready to embark on an aural journey across nations, countries, and continents with the Hessler Street Duo. Comprising pianist Jennifer Heemstra and violinist Patrick TS Yim, the duo in their concert From Hessler to Hindustan will trace the ancient Silk Road, which connected several countries across Asia, Africa, and Europe, to create a channel that facilitated the silk trade as well as the exchange of information between cultures.

The public performance at Goethe-Institut will witness the India premiere of Elena Kats -Chernin’s Eliza Aria, as well as a music piece inspired by the Silk Road, called Miles upon Miles, composed by Yao Chen and Austin Yip. Alongside, the performance will also include Edvard Grieg’s Sonata for Piano and Violin, a short love song by Mexican composer, Manuel Ponce and The Jazz Suite No 1 by Russian composer, Dmitri Shostakovich. The recital will also be accompanied by artist Viraag Desai’s media art installations.

(full article)

The Telegraph - Feb 8, 2018
Interview -Jennifer Heemstra serves up some cool classical tunes

What is the hardest part about being a musician?
"Having to do it all at the same time. Being a musician today not only means practising long hours, you also need to be savvy with social media, leap logistical hurdles in a single bound, be comfortable addressing different audiences, all the while travelling country to country." (full article)

Serenade Magazine - Aug 3, 2017
Review - All that Jazz

Jennifer Heemstra, the iconic entrepreneur, pianist and social activist (Yes, I actually said that) of cultural enlightenment and change, who has in three brief years made this city her second home and brought some great American talent to its audiences, presented in the latest of this year’s series, the dramatic and exciting soprano/contralto, Chelsea Coyne (amazing vocal range) in a generous collection of concerts titled “All That Jazz”. I would strongly advise a deep breath here, there was no other way to put it. (full article)

The Telegraph - May 13, 2017
Review - Many Surprises

Family feuds rarely play out as pleasingly as the one at the Goethe Institut on March 24 did. The Kolkata Classics Club's Jennifer Heemstra brought together three noted musicians to recreate, through one of Brahms's finest chamber works, the 'classic family feud' between the piano on the one hand and the cello, violin and viola on the other. The concert, titled Three Strings and a Hammer, featured Heemstra on the piano, Wendy Case on the violin, Amir Eldan on the cello and Kirsten Docter on the viola; they performed the Quartet for Piano and Strings in G minor, Op. 25. (full article)

FOX 17
morning
MIX

Live TV Interview
November 18. 2016

CIM Notes - Spring 2015

Imagine you’re a classically trained pianist about to perform in front of a crowd that can’t wait to hear your first note. But instead of seats, your audience sits on the floor. Instead of a Steinway, you’re playing on a keyboard you’ve brought with you. And out of the corner of your eye, you can see a heard of water buffalo saunter by. This was reality for alumna Jennifer Heemstra, who has spent the last year performing classical music all over India. She and her colleagues have performed in everything from the slums and poverty-stricken villages to ballrooms and 1,500-seat theaters packed to the brim. The
one thing that these concerts have in common? Her audiences can’t get enough. (full article)

LIVE interview on The WGVU Morning Show with Shelley Irwin on October 11, 2016 at 10:45 am EDT
88.5 FM or stream wgvunews.org.