Education, Performance, and Healing: How CMU Shaped a Multifaceted Musician
25 at 25 | Heitha Forsyth (CMU '19)
Heitha Forsyth (CMU ’19) completed a Bachelor of Music Therapy and is now Executive Director of the Manitoba Conservatory of Music & Arts, a music therapist at Misericordia Health Centre, and a professional musician known for her solo act Sol James and bands like The Solutions.
Heitha Forsyth decided to go back to school almost a decade after graduating with her undergraduate degree. She had a partner, a mortgage, an established career, and school felt distant. "I had to basically pivot life as I knew it," she says. But CMU staff helped her with the adjustment. "When it came to any questions I had about my student loan or anything like that where I wasn't sure what to do and I was feeling vulnerable, there were people to catch me and keep me moving forward. I really appreciated that."
Forsyth came to CMU for the Bachelor of Music Therapy program, which she graduated from in 2019. She is now the executive director of the Manitoba Conservatory of Music & Arts, a non-profit organization that runs music education programming through individual instruction and through their Music Equals program, which brings music education and performances to people who wouldn't otherwise have access due to economic and social barriers.
She is also a music therapist at Misericordia Health Centre and a sought-after professional musician well-known in the Manitoba music scene. She performs in bands like The Solutions and Retro Rhythm Review, and as her solo act, Sol James. She's a self-described "journeyman singer," meaning she takes music jobs the way a plumber or electrician takes calls; her gigs range from weddings to funerals, corporate events to house concerts, or backing vocals in the recording studio. "I always wanted to be a musician. As a musician I feel like it's a service to your community—you're around for people's most vulnerable times."
Forsyth entered CMU thinking she had to pick a lane in the music world and pursue only that one. But taking classes and getting experience in music therapy, performance, and even non-music disciplines helped her realize she could do it all. "Now I have these skills, thanks to CMU, that allow me to, even more so, broaden my horizons. They all complete me as a whole human being, navigating this world, not just the credential that I ended up with," she says. "The quality of the education I received definitely is a huge reason that I'm in a position that I am in now."
Forsyth's studies included not only music therapy, but also classes in fields like biblical and theological studies. As a non-religious person, she was wary of these required courses at first. She says, though, "I was surprised by how much I enjoyed those classes and learning about... that perspective as a secular person."
These conversations between different faiths and cultures are something the world needs more of, she says. Amidst polarization and upheaval, she is holding fast to her commitment to "live in the grey."