Hi and welcome to my website. My name is Heather Illidge and I am sixteen years old. I have only really been singing for the past two years and started out as a very shy thirteen year old singing in the bedroom. I have always loved music but due to my lack of confidence I had always been wary of singing in front of people.
A few of my friends heard me singing and convinced me to join my schools vocal group. It was brilliant being part of Thomas Bennett’s vocal group, the teachers were supportive and encouraging and of course when performing I had safety in numbers which was a huge relief for me.
After performing with the vocal group for a while I began to grow in confidence and decided to ask one of my music teachers to listen to me sing and give their honest opinion. It was Lucy Lockwood who heard me sing and I now see her as a very good friend and mentor. My teachers, Lucy Lockwood included, continued to guide me but this time as a soloist rather than someone within an ensemble.
My first ever solo performance was for all the support/supply teachers at my school. From the moment I held the microphone to the moment I put it down, I physically shook. But after the performance I felt strangely exhilarated and over the next few months I continued to perform in and around school.
After reading an advertisement in the paper I decided to audition for Music In Crawley (The Mic). After passing the audition I was part of a year long project writing and recording our own singles.
In between doing the MIC, I was still being nurtured by my music teachers. It was because of this that I was head hunted by Jill Landskroner at a small summer fate in smallfield, where she offered me an ensemble part in the Act Too production of Les Miserables. I couldn’t believe my luck! I had always quite liked the idea of going into musical theatre and overwhelmed that I was being given such an amazing opportunity. I loved every moment I spent with Act Too and enjoyed the week of performances at the Capitol theatre in Horsham.
Shortly after my time with Act Too finished, my single from the MIC was released on Itunes which was a huge milestone for me. A few weeks later my step dad found an advertisement for the upcoming Crawley’s Got Talent auditions. After a few days of worrying about whether I was good enough, I decided to apply for the audition. What was the worst that could happen? Luckily I made it through the auditions and began preparing myself for the live finals.
I continued performing at small events around Crawley, when I was approached about being part of a one off show with Peter Polycarpou by the director of the Les Miserables production I was in. I was in total awe at the idea of performing alongside Peter Polycarpou as he was someone who had made their name in musical theatre and certainly someone that I truly respected. So early December 2011, I made my west end debut in the Garrick Theatre, an incredible experience that I will never forget.
On February 11th 2012, I took part in the Crawleys Got Talent finals and to my absolute surprise, I won!
Which brings us to the present. Looking back I can hardly believe I have achieved so much in just over a year. If you were to tell my thirteen and a half former self that a day would come where I would perform in front of two people, let alone hundreds, I would have told you that you were mad!
I hope you enjoy browsing my web page and checking out my upcoming events, current music & videos. And please follow me on twitter and facebook!
Other than that I give my thanks to you, a rather patient audience, for listening to my rambling (and looking back, rather lengthy!) life story.
Love to all, Heather Illidge
