Heather Lake - Interview
In front of the red light … with Heather lake! Watch the Full Interview here.
When it comes to carving out a music career in 2025, the path is anything but linear. Just ask Heather Lake. A classically trained soprano with a background in violin, Heather’s journey has taken her from the conservatory hall to the living rooms of Washington Heights—and nearly every performance space in between.
In a recent conversation, Heather opened up about one of her favorite tools for staying creative, collaborative, and connected: Groupmuse.
“It’s kind of a website where you, as a performer, can build your profile,” she explains. “You can list the type of event you’re offering—recitals, salons, even just ‘a guitar thing’—and send messages to hosts who want to bring that into their homes.”
Heather started performing through Groupmuse as more of a one-off gig — but now this has evolved into something more. Groupmuse became a launchpad for a new venture with a close friend: Lyric Arts Collective, a grassroots initiative dedicated to bringing music to unconventional spaces—living rooms, street corners, college campuses, even weddings.
“It’s been a really great opportunity to learn new music, try out pieces in front of people, and shake off the nerves,” Heather says. “But more than anything, it’s about moving people.”
Building Community from the Couch
Heather has lived in Washington Heights for six years and loves the artistic energy of her neighborhood. In her current apartment—shared with fellow artists—she’s hosted living room concerts of her own.
“The living rooms in these apartments are huge,” she laughs. “We did one of our first concerts right here. It’s kind of amazing how these spaces transform.”
She’s also deeply familiar with the jazz scene, thanks to five years bartending at a venue near the Manhattan School of Music—where she often worked the bar on jazz nights.
“I’m not in the jazz scene per se, but I know a lot of the musicians. A lot of them live uptown, and it creates this accidental, but really tight-knit community.”
A 9-to-5 (or 5-to-1?) That Feeds the Art
In addition to performing and co-founding Lyric Arts Collective, Heather works at So & So’s, a performance venue inside a hotel where she serves tables five nights a week.
“It’s technically my 9-to-5, but it’s more like a 5-to-1 a.m.,” she jokes. “But the cool thing is, every night there’s entertainment—live piano, jazz bands, even burlesque shows.”
For Heather, it’s a masterclass in stage presence.
“I get to watch so many performers manipulate a room,” she says. “Some just sit at the piano and open with a ‘Hey guys, send me requests!’ vibe. Others say very little but have this commanding energy just through their movements.”
Too Opera for Theater, Too Theater for Opera
Heather started singing seriously at 21, after years as a violinist. Over time, she transitioned from choral singer to opera singer to something a little more genre-fluid.
“I’m a classical soprano that can do both,” she says, meaning opera and musical theater. “But I live in this in-between space that’s sometimes a little too operatic for musical theater, and a little too theater for traditional opera.”
It took some time—and self-permission—to sit comfortably in that gray area.
“I had to allow myself to be that,” she says. “Because I think one of the worst things you can do to an artist is put them in a box. Labels like ‘light lyric coloratura’ are fine, but if you’re told you’re too small for this and too big for that, it really messes with your confidence.”
Her takeaway: if something speaks to you and it’s in your range, do it.
Lyric Arts Collective: Music, Everywhere
With Lyric Arts Collective, Heather hopes to show younger artists—especially students—that the rules are bendable.
“We want to do outreach to college students, show them that you don’t have to go the one-track conservatory route,” she says. “You can sing opera and sing folk. You can perform in a concert hall one night and in someone’s apartment the next.”
This kind of thinking runs counter to what many conservatory-trained musicians hear early on. In fact, Heather recalls being told she couldn’t perform outside her assigned vocal category.
“I remember thinking, what do you mean I can’t try something else?” she says. “Eventually one of my teachers was like, ‘Go sing Fleetwood Mac if you want. Just go sing.’”
Heather is also a mentor at The Stage Exchange - a salon-style environment where both older adults and teens partner and perform songs, musical pieces, and scenes from plays.
Heather Lake’s story is a reminder that the world doesn’t need more boxed-in performers—it needs artists brave enough to stretch out, take up space, and sing wherever the music takes them.
If you’re a classical musician looking for permission to explore, here it is. Go sing. Go start your own collective. And maybe, just maybe, start in your living room.
Find Heather Lake:
