Heidi Bunkowsky

Band Leader, Keyboard, Vocals

Music is an integral part of my being. Always has been and always will be.

Some of my best earliest childhood memories center around music. At 4 and 5, sitting quietly in the corner listening to the Southern Comfort practices, I truly thought that those guys were gods. At 5, my dad painstakingly working with me to eliminate my lisp singing the lead on “the Parables” for the musical “He Lived the Good Life”. Performing and traveling with Koininia and recording the album at Century 21 studio with the chicken pox when I was 6 years old. At 6, my dad teaching me and my sisters the fundamentals of singing two-part harmony, lined up on chairs in the kitchen singing, “I’ve a Parrot with Feathers”. Deciding that I wanted to be an opera singer at the age of 6 after my Gramma took us all to the opera. At 6, my dad teaching me the fundamentals of playing chords  on the piano and understanding how musicians learn to play “by ear”. During this time and as I got older, singing to myself outside while I played, worked in the barn, cleaned the steel grain bins (loved the echo in there).

After this time, I developed as a musician through working with Family Spectrum, taking piano lessons sporadically, playing organ in church, directing Sunday school music, directing Christmas musicals at church and at school. Beginning to write my own music and recording with Family Spectrum, traveling and doing shows were major factors in teaching me many of the skills that I now possess.

There was always some push/pull in my musical life as I had to make decisions about the role it would play in my whole life. A defining moment came as I was working to audition for the school of music and after regularly practicing several hours a day, began suffering with major problems with tendonitis in my right hand. I think it was at this point that I decided that music would be a sideline for me and not an occupation. I studied Social Work, got my degree, but my primary occupation has been being a mother to my two children.

I suffered a personal tragedy in 1992, when my husband of that time and Brandon’s dad Jamie Drennan, was killed in a work accident. When this happened, my public musical life stopped for several years. I was very devastated by this and it took a long time for me to feel ready to perform again. The band went into a hiatus.

I got remarried in 1996 to my current husband, KM and we had Tristan in 1997. He is a very wonderful partner and supports me in all my musical endeavours with his whole heart (and sometimes his whole wallet)!

I’ve had many interesting musical experiences in the last 10 years. I played accompaniment piano with the CNIB choir for two years and reconnected with Ralph Jenkins from the Southern Comfort through this. Koininia had a 25 year anniversary revival concert, and as the old leader of the group had moved away, I was deemed to be the most logical choice to take on the leadership of this project. I started a children’s community choir which ran for three Christmas seasons. It was memorable and some friendships from that time have lasted into the present. The band continued to play sporadically and Southern Comfort began playing together again, along with Lisa, William and myself occasionally. Two years ago, in looking at all the young people in our family, we got together and decided that we’d form a new group from our family members. This has become Legacy, of which I am band leader. This past Christmas season, I wrote and taught a Christmas musical, One Small Act of Kindness, to the children of Domain Elementary School. The back-up band came from the junior band members of Legacy. It turned out great.

Being primarily self-taught, I have had fairly low self-esteem about my abilities as a musician. But through the years, I have seen that I do possess some strong skills to lead, direct, teach and inspire musicians to work to their potential. What I lack in formal training, I try to make-up for in enthusiasm and hard work.

My current passion is for singing and writing music. I feel that I am living with a ticking time clock as I have a serious hearing deficiency that continues to deteriorate. This impacts my music in many ways, but I’m still in the game and hope that technology will keep me here for a long time yet!  I am planning to record a CD of original music. When people ask me what I do I say “I’m a mom and a musician.”  It don’t pay much! But I feel so lucky to be doing two jobs that give many great life rewards.

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