Meet the artist.

With an innate ability to captivate an audience and tell a story, Heather Salanga is making great strides toward her career as a singer and musician.

Born and raised in San Diego, California, Heather has been a performer since she was 5 years old. She began her artistic journey as a dancer, training primarily in ballet, jazz, and lyrical dance. Through lyrical dance—a genre centered on storytelling—she discovered her gift for effective storytelling as a performer at a young age, guided by the encouragement of her dance instructor and studio owner, the great late Jocelyn K. Wilson.

Alongside dance, Heather developed a deep interest in music. She sang in her elementary school choir, played clarinet in concert band, participated in guitar ensemble, and took private piano lessons. Ultimately, it was singing and playing guitar that resonated most deeply and became the foundation of her artistic voice.

During middle school, Heather’s mother fell ill with brain cancer, a battle that would recur throughout Heather’s adolescence. As a result, her family could no longer support her creative pursuits, forcing her to place her dreams on hold. Still, she never stopped singing, never stopped playing guitar, and never stopped dreaming.

Along the way, Heather began singing in her church choir, where she met blues guitarist and singer-songwriter Jim Gibson and his wife, Laura, the choir’s cantor. Jim—whose collaborations include artists such as Steve Cropper (Sittin’ On the Dock of the Bay, Booker T. & the M.G.’s), Mick Taylor (The Rolling Stones), and Peter Tork (The Monkees)—would give her a few guitar lessons and became a mentor to her. Through his guidance and encouragement, Heather felt inspired to recommit her life to music.

Determined to reclaim the woman she knows she is, Heather pursued formal musical training as an adult at MiraCosta College, initially studying classical voice under Dr. Arlie Langager and San Diego Opera member Tasha Koontz. After discovering San Diego’s jazz scene, she fell in love with jazz and later moved to Orange County, CA to study with LA jazz vocalists, Teryn Re and Jamie Shew, at Fullerton College. Their mentorship prepared her for her next chapter at the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where she is currently projected to become the very first graduate of Jazz Voice in the school’s history. At Eastman, she studies under Sara Gazarek, member of the Grammy Award–winning vocal jazz supergroup, säje.

Heather is also a GRAMMY U member of the Recording Academy and has participated in its mentorship program, where she was mentored by songwriter Torae Carr, a collaborator on Lizzo’s “Rumors” featuring Cardi B.

Outside of her studies, Heather is still an avid performer with a deep commitment to storytelling. She has performed in a wide range of settings, including restaurants, private events, and weddings. She has collaborated with musicians throughout California and New York in formats ranging from vocal-guitar and vocal-piano duos to full bands and a big band. Her repertoire spans jazz, Latin jazz, and pop/commercial music in multiple languages.

In addition to performing, Heather loves to teach and share her passion with her own students through zoom or in person. She is currently accepting students.