I am living in California, and am still singing professionally. The classical chamber group I started last year, The Tarquinia Trio ~ Voice, French Horn, and Piano, concertizes in the area, and this year I am also working on my jazz repertoire with an experienced jazz pianist…we will see where that goes!  I also teach piano and voice lessons at my little music school, The Van der Veer Studio for Music and the Arts, in Carmel.

Take care!
Love,
Heidi Van der Veer

I am pursuing my professional singing career, teaching piano and voice lessons, am the soloist at a church in Monterey, conduct a church choir, and just recently sang in the Carmel Bach Festival. I am happy and excited about my life here in California!

I am having a Birthday and a PARTY!

You are Cordially Invited to…

WHAT: Heidi’s 34th Birthday-Dessert Party
WHEN: Monday 25 August 2008
TIME: 7:00 to 9:30pm
WHERE: Monterey, CA Cute brown house with Hollyhocks

What will be offered: Non-alcoholic drinks, Lemon Birthday Cake, Other delicious desserts.
Eat dinner before you come! No low blood sugar!

What to bring: If you play an instrument, and care to bring it, we will be having a Happy Birthday Song Contest -A Grand Piano will be provided. Contestants will offer creative instrumental and vocal renditions of

Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday, Dear Heidi,
Happy Birthday to You!

Winners will receive prizes for this and other contests and party games!

Visit Heidi’s website WWW.HEIDIVA.COM today!

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. Psalm 28:7

Dear NACOS Nagaya,

I was honored to know such a fine, and refined canine as Dolce Nakamura. He was a member of the NACOS Family for many years and gave such joy to all who met him in the NACOS offices. I had the distinct pleasure of having special experiences with the CUTEST, SOFTEST, and NOBLEST Shitzu I have ever known or seen.

I remember one time when Dolce came to visit my place of employment at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. He was in heaven with all of the fine European shoes and bounded excitedly around the store: he even jumped up onto the large cushioned seats that were for trying on shoes, and this was quite a feat for a Little dog! Michiko and Shuzo were amazed that he did such a rare thing.

Mr. Dolce duplicated his exuberant jumping efforts at my places of residence at Black Point and Manoa Valley, always under the doting eyes of his mistress and master, Michiko and Shuzo. They are to be commended for taking such fine and devoted care of the beautiful Dolce.

All the best to the NACOS Nagaya.

Sincerely,

Heidi Van der Veer

I have been living in rural Colorado for the last couple of years. One of my jobs has been to write articles of interest for the local newspaper, the Crestone Eagle. Last summer, I attended my first Tractor Pull and wrote an article for the paper about it.

There were 17 competitions in all—classified by tractor age, weight, and hitch height–hence numerous winners. I picked just some of the highlights to feature in this report.

CAPTION FOR THE PHOTOS
I did get to “drive” a tractor and it was one of those classic visions of  “Uh, guys, how do I stop this thing??” as they just laughed and waved as I rode away. I figured out how to turn it around and headed straight for the laughing crowd figuring they would tell me how to stop it when they sensed danger to themselves! Good clean fun.

Take care and best wishes to all.
Heidi Van der Veer

Flywheelers, Poppin’ Johnnies, and Antique Tractors

Arkansas Valley Flywheelers host Tractor Pull in Crestone

Antique Tractors pulled together for two fun-filled days of tractor pulling at Crestone’s Challenger Golf Course July 22 & 23. Tractors represented included a 1941, 1946, and 1950 John Deere (also known as Johnny Poppers or Poppin’ Jonnies because of their distinctive exhaust note), 1956 & 1957 Massey Harris, 1949 Case, 1949 Oliver, 1948 International Farmall, 1949 Ford, 1949 & 1939 Allis Challmers, 1945 Wards, and 1948 Minn Moline. The oldest tractor was a red and yellow 1938 Massey Harris Challenger owned by Myron Smith.

Jim Hollmer, Crestone resident and vice-president of the Arkansas Valley Flywheelers, designed and laid out the pull track. He also entered three of his own fully restored antique tractors in the friendly competition. Ed Mockensturm, AVF president, made a showing with six first places. “We’re all just a bunch of big kids out here,” the pullers, male and female, reiterated throughout the weekend.

How does a tractor pull work? Tractors are classified by age, weight and hitch height for competition purposes. Tractors are hitched to and have to pull a sled with a very heavy weight on it (a mechanical weight transfer machine). At first, the weight is at the back of the sled, which makes it easier to pull. As the tractor progresses down the track with the sled in tow, the weight is moved farther forward on the sled, making it increasingly harder to pull. This transfer of weight creates friction between the skid pan (part of the front of the sled) and the ground, and that in turn makes the sled harder to pull, eventually stopping the vehicle. The distance the tractors can pull the sled is what determines the winner. There’s a lot of skill involved in pulling the sled, because the object is to get as much traction as possible, for as long as possible. If the tires spin, the tractor will stop moving forward. Since the sled is becoming increasingly harder to pull, it is unlikely that the driver will get it moving again if he or she stops. A maximum speed of 5 mph is enforced (http://members.aol.com/pullingtractor/intro.htm)

The next AVF Antique Tractor Pull will take place August 5-6 in Poncha Springs at the Chaffee County Fair. For more information about the Arkansas Valley Flywheelers, go to www.avflywheelers.org. AVF is a member of Western Antique Power and Pullers Association.

Last weekend I sang at 17 Japanese weddings in beautiful Hawaii. For most of the weddings I not only sang and played maid-of-honor (taking the brideﾕs bouquet and gloves and straightening her dress and veil), I helped the guests throw flowers at the bride and groom when they walk down the aisle as man and wife. However, in the beginning, they were embarrassed to ask the singer to help with this task, so, a shy little coordinator with an embarrassed smile and poor English would hand me the basket of flowers and say, "Flower shower?" or, rather, Flawah shawah? which translated to "There are not enough guests in the next wedding to help with the flowers–In fact there are no guests: it’s just the couple. If you would be so kind as to, after you sing your songs, pretend to be a guest and throw some of these flowers at the couple when they walk down the aisle. Their limo driver and some other coordinators will sneaks in at the end to help you. Thank you, and by the way, we appreciate all your hard work around here–you really do a wonderful job with the brides."

I know I live in a fantasy world a lot of the time so… maybe I just imagine this is what they would say to me if they knew how.

Nowadays, when the wedding coordinators want me to help with this fun task, they simply put a little basket of fresh flowers on the organ where I can see it and I just know what it means.

Many people visiting from Japan have wondered whether they should tip those who serve them in America/Hawaii. They believe that everything is included in the price of the haircut or taxi ride or wedding ceremony. Although technically it is, there is a time-honored tradition in America of giving a little something extra to those who perform tasks for you. People in the service industry, unfortunately, are not paid what they are worth and they really depend on getting tips to support themselves and their families. (Employers also count on their employees receiving tips when they calculate a person’s wage). Let us say you or someone you know is getting married in Hawaii at one of the fabulous wedding chapels or churches or private homes that are available for wedding throughout the year. It would be an appropriate gesture to prepare some little tip envelopes: There are generally six people who provide wedding services for you during the actual ceremony. You should say thank you and give a tip to

1. The Minister who performed your ceremony
2.  The Organist or Musician who provided music
3. The Wedding Singer who sang you romantic and powerful songs
4. The Photographer who takes great pictures of you on your special day
5. The Videographer who capture these special moments forever
6.  And of course your Coordinator who organizes everything for you.

There will be additional people who serve you and you might consider also tipping any limo drivers, hair/makeup specialists, and wedding gown/suit coordinators who help you to look your best.

How much?

Anywhere between $10.00 and $100.00 cash US would be appropriate. Use your own judgment for what you feel their service is worth. They will be grateful for your kindness.

Working in the wedding business here in Hawaii can be quite fun. I get to sing The Hawaiian Wedding Song all day long for our special Japanese Wedding Couples. I also sing many other beautiful weddings songs and can take requests such as these beautiful pieces:

• Ave Maria
• One Hand, One Heart
• The Lord’s Prayer
• O, Perfect Love
• The Queen’s Prayer
• Bist Du Bei Mir
• E Maliu Mai
• E Ku’u Morning Dew
• You Go To My Head

Check out my website for the complete list of songs and arias that I sing. WWW.HEIDIVA.COM Go to Repertoire List.    

Sometimes, things do not go so smoothly during the ceremony and the minister, organist and singer must cover up other people’s mistakes: The bride trips over her dress; the groom forgets to bow to the father, the mothers light the wrong candle, the minister forgets to seat the guests, or the organist plays my songs in the wrong keys! All in all though, I am very lucky to be a part of a thriving, happy business here in the Islands; I get to work in beautiful chapels with wonderful people doing something I love, sharing my gift of song with people from all over the world.

Wednesday 29 August 2001

Today was my first day with the girls from Hiroshima. I think we were a little nervous meeting each other and I was told to be extra nice to these poor nervous girls. Well,  after about 10 minutes I think that any anxiety was gone (I am so talented at making people laugh). We spent  our time at NACOS talking and getting to know each other a little bit before we headed en mass over to Daie to do the grocery shopping for our lunch. I was so excited-the girls had decided to make me a specialty dish of their region, a sort of a thick cabbage/bean sprout pancake with egg. I took us in my Jeep-I do not know how we all squeezed in there!-to the condo, a really impressive suite at the Hawaiian Monarch on the Ala Wai. Whoa, what a view-I did not know that one place in Waikiki could have a view in so many directions. When we arrived, we set to work making the lunch and I tried to get everybody in some sort of action shot: stirring the batter, flipping the pancake, serving the different variations. When we finally sat down after all that hard work-It was so delicious! And there were two different kinds so that I could taste a variation. Now at this point I was reminded of a pancake recipe that I make. I told the girls about my famous Banana Pancakes with Mana Bananas. This sent the crowd wild! They just had to have some of my American cooking in return for their’s. It was settled. Friday of the following  week I would invite the girls over to my new place and I would cook for them…

3 September 2001-Labor Day

10:30-12 Chihiro worked on her Self portrait and the terrific NACOS English teacher Heidi helped with pronunciation and intonation. We worked on proper pronunciation of the numbers and practiced dates as well as friendly repetition of the portrait’s sentences for confidence! Chihiro did very well and said after that she felt much better about expressing herself-she had confidence!

3 September 2001-Labor Day

Chihiro & Yoshi T. and Heidi celebrated the national holiday, Labor Day together with some lunch at the shrimp restaurant, Bubba Gump’s in Ala Moana Center. Though first, we just HAD to stop by CHANNEL to get a perfume report, some squirts and sprays and pose for a few pics, both inside and out-boy, were we excited! Then on to the SHRIMP! After we were seated in the movie-inspired restaurant we only looked in English menus, but then we wanted to verify our understanding with the Japanese menus…we couldn’t understand any of those crazy names! We finally decided upon Shrimp Shack Pasta, a Bucket of fried Shrimp, Mahi Mahi and Lobster and…what was the other dish we ordered??? Anyhow,  it was all delicious. And the girls were happy to go to a new place that their friends had not tried yet so they could brag about how Great! the place they went to lunch that day was-and they sure had something to brag about. We did not even have room left for dessert : (

Wednesday 5 September

Lunch provided at NACOS by students and casual chatting about the idea that women should be able to have fun, adventurous lives-even after they get married and have children; having a family should not mean the end of their life. One’s husband should be an exciting, happy man who wants to show the world to his woman.

Thursday 6 September

Well, I guess my little talk yesterday inspired one pair of ears. Miyuki was very eager to get to know me better and find out just what else I had to say about important subjects. (I must say that we hit upon some deep subjects that I think we both remember and will leave at that). We were supposed to go out and walk around and take pictures but we were so involved with talking that only at the end of our session did we take a quick  littlejaunt downstairs and next door to a clothing shop run by a nice, but sly Korean lady. I tried on a couple of things and was not too impressed by them. I guess neither was Miyuki because she chose not to try on anything herself.

Tuesday 11 September 2001

Oh My God. This is a day that will live in infamy…Four commercial airliners hijacked and crashed in to the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C.  I did not know if I would even come to NACOS on the afternoon of this tragic day. But I decided that it was important to connect with the girls about the impact of what had transpired earlier. I had donned my black dress and was in a state of mourning when I arrived at NACOS.  Miyuki was the one to hear and have explained what all this must mean for all Americans. She had many questions. Yes, an estimated 40, 000 people were killed this morning. This was the biggest and most serious attack on the United states since Pearl Harbor in 1942. Yes ALL Americans are totally in shock, devastated, grieved, angry,  and upset and want justice for the perpetrators. Guys with knives hijacking airplanes with 200 people on board??? Ridiculous. It was a very emotionally exhausting day and after talking and talking about it we took a little drive to clear our heads and get a bite to eat.

Wednesday 12 September 2001

A good surprise for today’s lesson: I was asked to sing at a special memorial church service at the Ilikai Hotel at their Angel Chapel for all the stranded hotel guests who could not leave the island because all the airports in the nation had been shut down. People needed solace and comfort, answers and direction. Where to turn at a tragic time like this? Turn to each other, turn to God. I was honored to be asked to give in song to these
people. So at 4pm, Miyuki was seated in a pew with the other 50 or so guests, ready with a tape recorder. I sang God Bless America, The Lord’s Prayer and I’ll Walk With God. During one part of the service, the minister had everybody go around the room and express one word to describe how they felt.  Sorrow, be-wildered, devastated, sad, saddened, angry, Jesus, peace, retaliation, tragedy, power… were some of the one-word responses. At the end everyone sang the uplifting hymn Let There Be Peace on Earth and Let It Begin With Me. Everyone cried. Afterwards, we went to the little outdoor bar there at the Ilikai Hotel for a cranberry juice, something that Miyuki had never had before. Cool and
refreshing. Miyuki was speechless for a long time after the ceremony. She
was very emotional and very moved. We decided to try to think about something else so we went to Borders Books to look for books on occupational therapy.

Friday 14 September 2001

All the girls from our first meeting with enconomiyaki were invited to my home for banana pancakes and my specialty, Mana Bananas. I was so happy to have my first guests in my new place be my lovely Japanese students from NACOS. Everyone helped and everyone ate. Even Dolce had a good time being someplace new and running around. I was was to give a lesson to everyone about Western-style table manners. This was fun for me to talk about and demonstrate and edifying for the Japanese girls.

Final Message

As young people, as strong, intelligent young women in a global world, in an uncertain and changing world, I say “Brava!” to each of you. You came such a long way and had such a powerful experience. It would have been different if you had been at home with all the other kids your age experiencing this striking world event. You would have felt safer and more detached from this world-changing event. Instead, you were out in the world, alone. You will never be the same. The world will never be the same. But you will be better for it. I love you and will always remember the powerful experiences we shared. Be well, do good works and keep in touch. I remain faithfully,
Heidi Van der Veer

"O Beautiful for spacious skies…America, America!" Today was Independence Day and we were all dressed in red, white and blue for the occasion of our first English lesson on the 4th of July.

We started off with my introducing myself and talking a little about my life so far and how I came to live in Honolulu. I grew up in Santa Barbara, California and moved to Colorado when I was seventeen years old and my dear mother died. I lived with my older half brother, Art. I lived in Colorado for four years and went to college there for two of those four years. Then because I got tired of the cold climate, I decided to transfer to the University of Hawaii at Hilo (UHH) on the Big Island. After two years of study there I was invited to participate in a summer opera training program in Italy for the summer of 1998. I ended up staying there for a year. I studied Italian, taught English and took singing lessons and I had a fantastic time! When it was time to come back in Spring 1999, I decided to move to Honolulu where I knew I would have many musical opportunities and would be able to find work. I have been very pleased with my move here; Honolulu has the cleanest air, the cleanest water and lowest crime rate of any big American city. And I have been able to make my way as a singer here too. I sing every weekend at Ko ヤOlina Wedding Chapel and I teach English to lucky students at NACOS! After my introduction we worked on personal sketches. First Nazumi went. I had her read her story first and then I went through it with her and we read it slowly together, stopping many times to get the correct pronunciation of difficult words. And Mayumi just breezed right through her story and made hardly any mistakes!

• LET US REMEMBER

  1."L" the letter L must be said correctly every time.
      Do not mix up the "R" with the "L"

  2. Final "S" must be watched for and not ignored

  3. You may connect the article "a" with the word before it as in have a" may be pronounced "hava."

  Phrases & Vocab
  Breathe!
  Patriotic
  Glitter & Sparkles
  Fireworks: aerials and sparklers
  Snore. Dolce is snoring!

  You act/behave/seem more mature than 26 (years old).

  Proper NUMBER Pronunciation
  13 Thirteen            30 Thirty
  14 Fourteen           40 Forty
  15 Fifteen               50 Fifty
  16 Sixteen              60 Sixty
  17 Seventeen        70 Seventy
  18 Eighteen           80 Eighty
  19 Nineteen          90 Ninety

Thursday 05 July 2001

We met David today! Ohhhh-he is sooooo cute with his blond hair and blue eyes, trying to speak Japanese to Nazumi  :)  So, he read his self portrait in Japanese out loud to us and Mayumi and Nazumi read their’s aloud to him. What good practice for all. (Visiting MY house today was on the schedule, but I was telling Michiko-San how embarrassed I was because although my personal room is clean and tidy-I rent a room in a woman’s home near Diamond Head-I was not sure about the rest of the house which my landlady uses; she does not always clean her part of the house which includes the living room and kitchen. Miko said just to express this to Mayumi and Nazumi and it would be alright… ) On our way to my house we stopped off to check my mail at the post office in Waikiki. And I am glad I did because I got an important package of some pictures that I had printed on Sony Image Station. While we were there we took a look at the stamp collection and picked up some stamps as souvenirs for the folks back in Japan. We arrived at my home in Kahala and I am sorry to say, but it was HOT! (I am thinking of moving because it is so hot in the Summer there). Anyhow we enjoyed looking at my landlady’s photography of fantasy babies and we loved meeting that great dog, KONA! Kona was just so incredibly sweet and lovable and gentle and clever and…And the house looked pretty good!
We decided to take a lovely walk over to the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hotel just right next to my home. On our way we passed the Waialae Country Club and Golf course which is Famous for the Sony Open. And we passed by the Kahala Beach Condominiums. At the hotel we were impressed by how beautiful the place was with lavish tropical gardens and pools and right on the ocean and the Dolphins! So cute doing tricks! We saw a wedding party there that reminded us of Mayumi’s daughter who just married earlier this week. We
decided that the Kahala Mandarin, with its lovely wedding facilities, would be the perfect place for Miss Nazumi to "tie the knot." She countered that I should get married there too. I ran into a  friend of mine there, Lisa, who I was happy to find had found employment as a cocktail waitress there. We chatted for a few minutes and promised we would get together soon for tea or something. Soon it was time to walk back home and soon after that it was time to drive back to NACOS. But not without saying goodbye to Kona for ten minutes!

Friday 06 July 2001

Out to Dinner this evening. We had found out the day before that our new friend, David, worked at the Mexican restaurant, Compadres, in Ward Center and so we decided that that was where we wanted to go for dinner tonight. We arrived at 6:00pm after deciding to Valet park my Jeep (it was hard to find parking on a Friday night). Up the escalator and to the left we found the restaurant. We were greeted and soon seated in David-san’s section. It was a nicely decorated spacious restaurant with Mexican decor. First our drink order was taken and we decided upon Virgin Strawberry-Banana Daiquiris, which were delicious as we snacked on tortilla chips and salsa. The menu selection was daunting-so many choices! But with a little help from Heidi and David, more experienced with South-of-the-Border Cuisine, the dinner was ordered. Here are some of the items that we selected.

• Mexican Food

  Guacamole
  Quesadia
  Chille Relleno
  And some of the foods we did not select this time:
  Chicken Mole
  Tacos
  Burritos
  Chimichangas
  Tostatsa
  Tamales
  …Next time!

 When the food came we were overwhelmed with how much variety of tastes and flavors there were; there was not much conversation as we ate-we were so engrossed with each dish. I was so touched after the meal when the girls brought out a little present for me. I had no idea and it was a total surprise. First there was just the cutest little card that was a 3-D Dalmatian dog with a little note in its mouth. Then came an unexpected box. I was so delighted to discover, in addition to a lovely pink bubble bath set, the most adorable little grey kitten toy! It had a little pink nose and pink ears and we decided to name it HILI!  ;) 
I was so happy to get to know such a terrific Japanese mother and daughter team! I had a great time at our final Mexican dinner and I hope that we will get to see each other again soon (Who knows, maybe Mayumi will get that job at Watabe Wedding Corp in Honolulu…)

Best regards,
Heidi Van der Veer