Alan Heatherington is one of the leading orchestra conductors in Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. He has conducted and/or played with virtually all of the major orchestras in the Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 area. He is presently the Music Director of Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra, the Lake Forest Symphony Orchestra, and the Chicago Master Singers.

Early life and education

Heatherington grew up in Buffalo, New York

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

, the child of two musicians. Heatherington began his musical training at age five, first in piano and later in violin, voice, and conducting. While still in high school, he studied at the Eastman School of Music

Eastman School of Music

The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...

 in Rochester, New York

Rochester, New York

Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...

. He later turned down a scholarship at Eastman to attend Houghton College

Houghton College

Houghton College is a Christian liberal arts college affiliated with the Wesleyan Church. The college is a member of both the Christian College Consortium and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities...

 in New York and the seminary at Trinity Evangelical School in Bannockburn, Illinois

Bannockburn, Illinois

Bannockburn is a village in West Deerfield and Vernon townships of Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,429 at the 2000 census...

 (now part of Trinity International University

Trinity International University

Trinity International University is an evangelical Christian institution of higher education headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois. It comprises an undergraduate college, a graduate school, a theological seminary , and a law school--together with nearly 3,000 students...

). After graduating from seminary, he taught theology and biblical studies at the Moody Bible Institute

Moody Bible Institute

Moody Bible Institute is a Christian institution of higher education and related ministries that was founded by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Since its founding, MBI's main campus has been located in the Near North Side of Chicago. MBI's primary ministries are education,...

 for ten years. He received a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

. While at Northwestern, he studied conducting under Margaret Hillis

Margaret Hillis

Margaret Hillis was an American conductor. She was the founder and first director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus.-Life:...

 and Bernard Rubenstein. He also studied violin, winning the honors competition.

Early Professional Career

Heatherington made his debut at Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....

 with the Delft Trio in 1981. He conducted the Chicago String Ensemble from 1977 until 1995.

Heatherington has taught extensively at universities. From 1981 to 1986, he was director of orchestral conducting and string instruction at the State University of New York at Buffalo. In 1988, he became associate professor of music at North Park College, and conducted the college orchestra there until 1993.

From 1995 to 2003, he was Director of Music Ministries at the First Presbyterian Church in Lake Forest, Illinois

Lake Forest, Illinois

Lake Forest is an affluent city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The city is south of Waukegan along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore. Lake Forest was founded around Lake Forest College and was laid out as a town in...

. He was conductor of the professional choir at Anshe Emet Synagogue in Chicago from 1992 to 2000. He was the Artistic Director and co-conductor of the Innsbruck International Choral Festival for four years.

Current Positions

Maestro Heatherington is currently the music director of three Chicago-area entities: Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra (which he founded in 1995), the Lake Forest Symphony Orchestra (2000 to present), and the Chicago Master Singers (since 1989). He has been a guest conductor with numerous orchestras, operas, ballets, and choral groups in the United States and has conducted concerts in many of the major cultural capitals of Europe, including London, Paris, Vienna, Salzburg, Berlin, Munich, Zurich, Lucerne, Rome, Venice, Milan, Florence, Prague, Warsaw and Budapest. In 2007 he made his European opera debut conducting Rossini's Barber of Seville at the Krakow Opera.

Awards and Critical Acclaim

Heatherington is among the most highly regarded and revered choral and orchestral conductors in Chicago. He is also a distinguished professional violinist. He is particularly known for bringing a microphone on stage and delivering an impromptu introduction and commentary on one or more of the pieces the orchestra is performing.

The Chicago Tribune

Chicago Tribune

The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...

's classical music critic, reporting on an Ars Viva concert, wrote that "Heatherington knows precisely what he wants and has the leadership skills to bring his musical ideas alive through a solid ensemble that includes numerous Chicago Symphony players in key positions."

In 2005, Maestro Heatherington was named the Conductor of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras. He was named by the Chicago Tribune

Chicago Tribune

The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...

as a Chicagoan of the Year for 2004. In 2006, the Lake Forest Symphony, which he directs, was named Illinois Orchestra of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras. In 2010 he received the Cultural Leadership Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Illinois Council of Orchestras, for "sustained leadership, extending beyond his own
organizations and community, that has profoundly impacted the state of the Arts in Illinois."