Hey - I'm terrible at participating on this site, but I am on Substack now so I can get off Facebook but my mom doesn't have to deal with the constant barrage of, "What is Heidi up to now?" If you're into it, would love to see you there. If not, keep on keepin' on <3 substack.com/@heidijoosten

Heyo - who here is connected to the choral + wind ensemble depts. at their respective universities (especially the religious ones with holiday/Christmas concerts)? I've got a banger of a choral *ADVENT* piece with either piano, piano + brass quintet, or WE accompaniment just for your fall needs.

Someone get Ben Wikler an Old Fashioned STAT

REMINDER: Wisconsin has same-day voter registration. So, if you haven’t registered or recently moved or anything like that, you can register at your polling place (with ID and proof of residence) TODAY. Every state should do this. It’s great that Wisconsin does this. Go vote.

Wisconsin! Judge Susan Crawford will work to protect your rights and freedoms. So get out there and vote today by 8pm. You can find your polling place at wisdems.org/vote. If you have any questions about voting, call or text the Voter Assistance Hotline at 608-336-3232.

Me: Everything is so awful. Am I going to lose my healthcare? Should I be leaving the country? The microplastic spoon in my brain: Be still, my child. Be calm. Send another email. Drink a Diet Coke. Watch The White Lotus Sundays at 9.

All right y’all - where’s the hope at? Where are the stories of good? Where are the lists of action items we can take to make things even a little better? I’m making the daily calls to my congresspeople but that’s doing absolutely nothing to assuage my anxiety. Whaddya got? Lay it on me

Tyranny requires your fear and your silence and your compliance. Democracy requires your courage. So gather your justice and humanity, Illinois, and do not let despair overcome us when our country needs us the most.

I’ve got six flights in the next two weeks. Very this.

You are not powerless, and he is not unstoppable. Look at, and learn from, the funding freeze and how quickly he was forced to surrender.

Beyoncé has finally won Album of the Year at the #GRAMMYs. It’s better late than never, but the win still feels palpably overdue. "I just feel very full and very honored. It's been many, many years," the singer said.

Oh this seems the most fun, and I would also like to participate!

LET’S GOOOOOOOOO

I’m just a girl, standing in front of my local pub, begging them to adjust their rules so my dog can come in and hang with me. Yeah I know why the rules are there, but they haven’t met my dog.

Wait so explain this to me like I’m five - did he really get away with 34 felony counts with no punishment, or is it not over yet?

lol how does anyone actually successfully use Ableton in a theatrical setting without wanting to die

***New Newsletter*** It’s not difficult to include women composers in history—there were so many. We just have to CHOOSE not to cut them. open.substack.com/pub/sarahfri...

Man, I wish Midwest had a "I just wanna hang out with my nerdy music friends for 2 hours in the exhibit hall but I don't have time to do anything else" price point. Any seasoned attendee here have a hack for that sort of thing? Preferably for Thursday?

Yesterday, I finished up conducting 79 performances (since mid-August) of “Avatar: the Last Airbender” live in concert. This tour changed my life and I am so grateful to have been a part of it 🌀🌊🌎🔥

Hiya friends - v busy at the moment, so I don't have time to just play in the sandbox. Where are your best resources to become a whiz quickly at both Dorico and Ableton? Plug your friends with tutorials/YT channels if the vids aren't incredibly long. xoxo thank you!

I guess I'm back! I'm Heidi - I'm a composer, pianist, harpist, theatrical music director, and currently in a season of life where I'm working a lot in film + orchestra live events. What did I miss, where are the fun people hanging out, and who wants to make some art?

Hey friends - hands up if you're a composer going to Midwest or know a composer going to Midwest? If this information is helpful to you, I have ~400 18in. coils of varying diameter if you need any scores bound and your local print shops won't do a tabloid-size bind. Hit me up and we'll connect!

Real terror is deciding if you want to sound like a local (which you were for 23 years) or a tourist (which you are now) when pronouncing "bag tag" at the MSP airport.

Can someone please explain to me why the barrier to health insurance at a university teaching job is a terminal degree and not if you're a good teacher? Explain it to me like I'm five years old how and why that one extra piece of paper is SUCH a gatekeeper. I'm listening to understand.

Spite is ordering a whole ass coil binding setup worth a half month's rent for two self-published tabloid-sized scores because no FedEx in Chicago is willing to do an 17in. bind that requires them to *flip the page over* in their 14in. binding machine. Anyways, come buy my music at Midwest, please.

I don't know etiquette here yet - do we introduce ourselves? Is this primarily a commiseration site? Self-promotion? What good things do we carry over from the bad place and what do we 100% leave behind? Anyways, I'm Heidi. Chicago-based, one foot in musical theatre, one foot in classical music.