Reprinted with permission from The Denver Post. Colorado composer plays with a little help from his friends By Sabine Kortals Special to The Denver Post It takes moxie to stage a world-premiere concert of your own music, putting your art and your ego on the line. But on Wednesday, local composer John Heins will do just that. "I think it's harder now than ever for a composer to make a living," he said. "The ideal place for a composer is where there's a top-notch orchestra that supports new music by offering commissions, or at least the willingness to perform works by local composers, and where there's support from musicians and music lovers." At least part of that equation holds true locally. Members of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, as well as flutist Alexa Still - a musically renowned faculty member at the University of Colorado's College of Music - are among Heins' featured performers. The composer and his wife, Marilyn Nelson, will open the program with his Waltz Fantasy for Piano,Four Hands. "With a few exceptions, I mainly run into brick walls when I submit scores for consideration," Heins said. "So I finally decided to organize my own concert." But things are looking up. Heins' "Ballade," - premiered by the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra in 1996 and subsequently performed by the Kiev Philharmonic last year - is featured on the latest release of ERMMedia's "Masterworks of the New Era," Also in 2004, Ballet Nouveau Colorado premiered Heins' ballet "The House of Alba," and in 2002, he was awarded the Colorado State Music Teachers Association (CSMTA) composer's commission. "John's music communicates well, inviting connection and engagement from performers and listeners," said Kathleen Macferran, music director of the Rainier Chamber Winds in Seattle, who recorded Heins' Octet for Winds. "The dynamic energy and vitality in his music is compelling. There's an attention to beauty that makes his works so accessible." Accessibility is key to Heins' compositional methodology. "A lot of new music is self-important, not intended to be enjoyed or even understood," said Heins, 50, who grew up in Billings, Mont., the eldest son of an art teacher and a school secretary. "My music is neo-romantic, which means it is an extension of the harmonic vocabulary of previously developed musical forms and techniques ...a modern context for a familiar tonal center." Although as a youngster he was far more interested in science than composition, Heins was influenced by his grandfather's love of music. "He had his own dance band, and he taught my dad how to play the accordion," said Heins. "I learned basic harmony and how to read music from playing accordion." Then Heins fell in love. "I started writing my own pieces, mainly for my high school girlfriend," he said. "She played flute, so my earliest compositions were mainly for flute and accordion, flute and clarinet, and flute and piano." At first, Heins imitated other composers. "I composed imitation Beethoven sonatas, or I composed in the style of Brahms," he said. "I still hold Brahms as an ideal. He's compositionally economical, yet he achieves a large emotional impact." Heins was accepted by the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, but - unable to afford the tuition - he studied composition at the University of Montana and the CU College of Music. His teachers included Donald Johnston, who was mentored by Howard Hanson, a leading practitioner of American Romanticism. Heins then served as composer, arranger, pianist and clarinetist in the U.S.Air Force Band of the Pacific Northwest. He eventually returned to Colorado to be with Nelson, whom he met at CU. The couple and their 9-year-old daughter, Anisa, settled in Broomfield to be near Nelson's family. The late Alan Hovhaness, a significant figure in the annals of 20th-century American composers, described Heins as "one of the most talented and brilliant composers of our time." Heins' perspective is less lofty. "I hope that the average professional musician likes to play my music, and that the average concertgoer enjoys hearing it - perhaps even more than once." home