Chi-Hi graduate plays her own tune

Last modified: Thursday, June 5, 2008 12:07 PM CDT

Chi-Hi graduate plays her own tune

By ELIZABETH HOCHSTEDLER
elizabeth.hochstedler@lee.net

When Heather Mueller picked up her first violin in fifth grade, she didn’t know it would change her life’s goals.

She had been taking piano lessons, and one day her piano teacher played a recording of violin music, and Heather was hooked.

“I thought it sounded really cool, so I thought I’d try it,” she said.

Now, more than seven years later, Heather is still playing and wants to include music in her future career plans.

That future will officially begin when she walks off the stage as a Chippewa Falls High School graduate Friday night, with her foster parents, Jeff and Pamela Fredrick, cheering her on.

Heather, who serves as the section leader in the high school orchestra, has not been selfish with her talent.

She has been giving private lessons for string instruments throughout high school. She also is a student teacher in Molly Nordin’s sixth grade orchestra class.

Those experiences have made an impact on Heather. She especially remembers one student who got her really involved in teaching.

While Heather was giving private lessons during her junior year of high school, she was matched up with a student who had been really struggling. Heather took interest in enhancing that student’s talent, and it paid off in the end.

“By the end of the year, she was one of the top kids in the class,” she said. “I really thought that was a good profession to get into.”

She now plans on going to the University of Wisconsin — Whitewater for music education.

“I found out that Whitewater has a really good strings-oriented education program,” she said.

Heather said one of the reasons she has stuck with the violin over the years is because music has been an outlet for her.

“When you play any kind of instrument, you can almost forget the outside world.

“You can be 100-percent focused on the music,” she said. “It’s almost like a private meditation sort of thing.”

Heather also uses her talent to entertain.

This summer she will perform for the second year at the Wisconsin Renaissance Fair. She performs as Tessa the Fiddler in her own stage shows and with the musical group Samirah.

“We play just fun exotic music,” she said.

Heather also does belly dancing at the fair and hopes to get involved with the belly dancing club at UW-Whitewater.

What she doesn’t plan on continuing is cheerleading.

Heather has been on the Chi-Hi cheerleading team for three years, something she happened upon but really enjoyed.

“It just gives me something to do, keeps me busy,” she said. “Competition was always fun.”

Heather became a cheerleader after finding out about the squad from a co-worker, and she used cheerleading to meet people.

“I like the team bonding, it’s fun,” she said. “It’s a good way to make friends.”

Heather said she doesn’t plan to continue cheering because of how time-consuming it is.

She plans on focusing a lot on her studies.

When Heather joins her classmates Friday in accepting her diploma, she will be looking forward to her future in college.

She said she will certainly miss her teachers and friends. But she also anticipates on meeting some new people.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Chippewa Falls High School graduation

WHEN: 7:30 p.m., Friday.

WHERE: Chi-Hi gymnasium.

GRADUATES: 382.

HIGHEST ACADEMIC HONORS: Ben Arneberg, Haley Christensen, Alyssa Hopkins, Heather Walicki.