We were lucky to catch up with Heather Peterson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Heather , thanks for joining us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

I love being a free-lance artist and entrepreneur. It is definitely not for everyone. It requires a lot of trust. Trust in the quality of the product you bring to the world, or your community around you.

I am happy I chose this path, because it allows me freedom to create flexible boundaries and hours, expand or contract my clientele based on what else is going on in my family life, and share what I love with clients in ways that work for me without overextending or draining myself.

There are times I wonder what “a regular job” might be like, in terms of easier or more predictable elements. But I truly love pioneering things, creating and realizing new ideas, and working with others on short-term projects that feel alive to me. In the end, if I don’t like what I’m getting, it’s usually because I didn’t honor my own boundaries or values very well.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Heather Peterson. I am a third or fourth generation musician, a classical pianist, a third generation entrepreneur, a collaborator, a singer, a creator of community, a teacher, a director, a parent, a lover of nature and inspiration, a free spirit, a champion of passing love of music and learning on to the next generation. I am also part of a beautiful family of musicians that includes my husband who is a singer/songwriter/audio engineer, and a mother of 5.

My love of music began before I could talk. I was always drawn to music. My dad was a musician and producer in Chicago, as well as a church musician, so I was always around music. We had a piano in the home. My mom tells me that at one and two years of age I danced to the ring of the telephone, and harmonized with the hum of the vacuum cleaner.

When I was four, my dad would transcribe simple familiar melodies into a number system, so I could pick them out on the piano, using C as 1, D as 2, and so on. I loved to sing and loved the easy visual element of pattern that the piano provided.

I began formal classical piano lessons at 5, after waiting and waiting for my birthday. I took to the system of note-reading and diatonic pitches on the piano quite easily. At 7 I had won a school-wide competition for a scholarship of a full year of piano lessons. At 8 I played my first full-length solo piano recital.

I continued on that track through high school, went to Northern Illinois University for piano performance, and completed a graduate degree in performance from Cincinnati Conservatory in ’03.

I love the collaboration process, I love learning, I love meeting people and learning about others and encouraging others to release their unique voice, while I practice courage in doing the same.

I am most proud of my tenacity and courage, my desire to keep trying even when things are hard, and especially when things are wonderful, and my desire to find and see life and beauty in the world around me, no matter the circumstances. I believe one of the things that sets me apart is that I simply am not motivated by “getting ahead” or success by the world’s standards, but instead I am motivated by quality of relationships and by creating togetherness and sharing joy.

One of the main things I want people to know about me is my down-to-earth love for life, people, and music. I lived life for a long time thinking I needed to aim at perfection and performance. I left the classical world because of the toxic pressures that philosophy fostered. But! I returned to classical music after twenty years, after growing as a relational human… and learning that perfection is really not what life or music is about. In fact, as I see it, music is LOVE and JOY and LIFE and BEAUTY in sound.

It is this principle or philosophy I desire to live from, full of freedom and with plenty of grace for learning and making mistakes along the way. Incidentally, my music performance or life performances are full of life and plenty of organic heart.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I would say my main goal is to Live Now, and Live Fully. This drives my creative journey, inspiring and informing the decisions I make. I like to use what I have, and love who I have relationships with right here in front of me. If that expands or contracts, that’s okay.

Joy and Love and Rest are important to me. Creativity comes from a position of rest and not hustling.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think the best thing that has helped build my reputation is knowing who I am and who I am not. Knowing what my values are helps me create boundaries to protect the elements I want in my life. Giving grace to others in their stressful or difficult situations has helped maintain my relationships and strengthen the bond and the trust between us.
Remembering that I am also learning, and others have been generous and gracious to me, has helped me remember to be kind and give grace to others even when things don’t feel ideal.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://heatherthomaspeterson.com
• Youtube: @heatherthomaspetersonpiano
• Other: Spotify: Heather Thomas Peterson

Image Credits

Photography by Christian Steiner.