
After graduating with her master’s degree from Juilliard in NYC, Heffter toured France as violist with the award winning Manfred String Quartet. With her travels came an appetite to write, and Heffter composed Eschapé, an impressionist flute quartet, premiered at Carnegie Recital Hall, reviewed by the New York Times as “astonishingly beautiful … an homage to Ravel.” This success paved the way for Heffter’s ambitions as a composer, positioning her for an eternal conflict between desires to both perform and create. Shown above is Heffter in viola section of the DCINY orchestra at Carnegie Hall.
SOLO VIOLA
VIOLA SUITES
Heffter’s Suites for Unaccompanied Viola
Video performances by the extraordinary Jordan Bak, branded
“A star in the making” by CAG
Click to see Video of Jordan Bak playing Viola Suite in G
Opposite: Violist Jordan Bak, winner of Concert Artists Guild 2019 Victor Elmaleh Competition, plays 1st and 4th movements of Heffter’s Second Viola Suite in C
Despite the pandemic of 2020, Rudin Management sponsored a carefully social distanced public concert in NYC on Park Avenue, as a tribute to 9/11
STRING QUARTET
“A Beautiful Life” by Lisa Heffter, for a somber day of Remembrance.
VIOLIN & PIANO

RAGE
Heffter’s fury for violin & piano
Laura Goldberg and Jeremy Reger
Jeremy and Laura in rehearsal for RAGE
OPERA

Illuminations
excerpt
sung by Lea Friedman w/Esoterica String Quartet
An Italian woman, once a scientist in her own country, has fled to America, and finds work as a house cleaner. One day she is hired by a five star high rise hotel; in a moment of despair, she steps out onto the balcony for some fresh air, and ….is illuminated.
opposite: Soprano Lea Friedman
STRING QUARTET

Carbon Fiber
String Quartet
recorded by Laura Goldberg, Kristi Heidleberg, Annabel Hoffman, Lisa Heffter
Opposite: premier performance NYC
L.Goldberg, S. Nelson, B. Clinesmith, L. Heffter
Cello & Piano

FLIGHT INTO THE STARS of INFINITY
recorded live performance
played by Misha Veselov , cello & Eri Nakamura , piano
Commission from Porto Alegre, Brazil in honor of Eva Sopher; premiered by cellist Marjana Rutkowski “..even the most taciturn man in the audience came to us very moved after listening to Lisa’s creation.”
Duet for Viola & Cello

CASTLE
a grand duet
Recorded at SONY studios, performed by Dan Avshalomov, viola and Raphael Jezerski, cello
Opposite: Viola and Cello at rest
KALEIDESOUND

KALEIDESOUND
a synthesized symphony …..”mesmerizing”
sound producer Hiromi Abe