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The American choral conductor and organist, William Heide, was born in Burbank and to Anaheim at the age of 4. His mother taught him to play the piano and later the organ. At the age of 12, he starting playing the organ once a month at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Anaheim, where his family attended. By early high school, he decided to go into music ministry. After high school, he attended Concordia University Chicago, where he earned an undergraduate degree in church music in 1973. During college, he worked for three years as a student music director at Grace Lutheran Church in Chicago, where he met his wife, Linda, when she auditioned to sing in the choir.
In 1974, William Heide became minister of music at Zion Lutheran Church in Anaheim. During that time, he also studied for his master’s degree in conducting from California State University, Fullerton, which he earned in 1980. He also has a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Conducting, earned in 2001.
After his time at Zion in Anaheim, Heide took a position as minister of music at St. Paul Church in Trenton, Michigan. By the time he joined St. John's Lutheran Church of Orange, California’s in 1990, his experience was vast enough to jump in and improve an already strong music program. He added a monthly concert series and developed the music conservatory, which currently has 100 private students. The church also has two adult choirs for traditional music, several contemporary music bands, seven children’s choirs and a handbell choir.
One of Heide’s favorite composers is Bach, with whom he feels an affinity. The sanctuary underwent renovation in 2015, and as a result, the musical experience in the church has gotten even better. |
