Electronic Press Kit

Heather Pinkham is a California‑born composer, pianist, and musicologist based in the Netherlands, known for her emotionally resonant works. Her music has been performed by leading ensembles and institutions, including the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra, Merced Symphony Orchestra, De Doelen Ensemble, November Music, Dutch National Opera Studio (Opera Forward Festival), Korzo, and the Dutch Youth String Orchestra (NJSO).

In 2025, Heather performed her piano concerto, Nowhere and No‑When, as soloist with the Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra in New Mexico, and in October, the work received its Dutch premiere with Ralph van Raat and the Rotterdam Philharmonic in the NTR ZaterdagMatinee series at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Her debut CD, Onward, released in May 2026, showcases both her compositional and pianistic voice, featuring her own solo piano works alongside two-piano repertoire recorded in collaboration with Ralph van Raat. The album was selected as NPO Klassiek’s Passaggio Late Night album of the week and received glowing reviews, including notice in Italy’s La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno. She is also the initiator of the project Music for Empty Spaces, a nationally recognized project in which twelve composers compose and twelve soloists respond to contemporary themes; the first edition was broadcast live on NPO Klassiek from an empty Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ during the first COVID lockdown, and the project is now preparing its third edition. Her recent Artist-in-Residency in January at NES in Iceland inspired new solo piano compositions and live performances.