Kiya Heartwood
No stranger to the independent and major label scene, Kiya released her first cassette, Gravity, in 1983. Her underground college band , Radio Cafe released their first EP in 1985 and in '86 changed their name to Stealin Horses. Stealin Horses released their self-titled debut CD in 1988.The CD featured outstanding California session musicians such as Russ Kunkel and Toto. The CD even has an appearance by Neil Young. The single, Turnaround, topped #32 on the AOR charts with medium play rotation on MTV.
Stealin Horses toured the US and Canada playing with acts including Level 42, Wang Chung, James Brown, The Smithereens and The Stray Cats, culminating with a 1990 performance at Farm Aid IV. The group re-formed to tour as a five-piece in Oklahoma after being dropped from Arista in 1991. Stealin Horses was then signed to Mississippi label, Waldoxy/Malaco and released, Mesa and Mandolins in 1991. Stealin Horses toured constantly and disbanded in 1993. Kiya then released a solo album, True Frontiers in 1993, for Malaco, which garnered a #1 on the Americana Chart with the song, Home.
In 1995, Kiya was hired to teach sound, guitar, and songwriting at the National Guitar Summer Workshop in Toronto, Canada where she met Miriam Davidson. Preparing for another solo CD, Kiya asked Miriam to sing on the recording. By the time Singing with the Red Wolves was finished, Wishing Chair had begun.
Kiya completed a MA in Cultural Studies from Norwich University in 2000. Returning to her roots, she chose to explore how and why traditions get passed down or invented. This was an excellent program for a social change artist. Kiya Heartwood is a keen observer of history, tradition, change and challenges. As the chief songwriter for Wishing Chair, Kiya Heartwood infuses the duo's songs with these themes, eager to address current issues boldly and willing to revisit history from a new perspective.
Kiya started writing for choirs in 2005 when she received a commission from the Denver Women's Chorus. She began taking courses in music theory, arranging and orchestration and finished a BA in Music Composition from the Petrie School of Music at Converse College in SC. She has worked with a number of choruses including the Cincinnati MUSE choir and the Converse Chamber Singers. Her song cycle “ Weave and Spin” was featured at the GALA conference in 2008. She received a Converse Collaboration Creativity grant and an Alice C. Patterson scholarship from the Emrys Foundation to write Lying to the Sea Gypsy in 2008. Wishing Chair's eighth CD, Stand Up Eight came out July 2009. Heartwood is currently studying in the Graduate Music Composition program at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ. Kiya is the Composer in Residence at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton for 2010-2011. Kiya lives near Princeton, with her partner, Rev. Meg Barnhouse, an upstanding dog and two brilliant cats.
