Music
Press
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Discography
Choral Recordings
Ten Years Strong: Solidarity Choir’s tenth anniversary album.
Count Us In: Solidarity Choir’s second album.
We Shall Not Give Up The Fight: Solidarity Choir’s twentieth anniversary album
An Organism Called Earth: Ecopella’s first album.
Songs In the Key Of Green: Ecopella’s tenth anniversary album.
Folk Recordings
Triantán: Celtic vocal trio.
The People Have Songs: Miguel Heatwole’s collection of 43 Sydney folk singers
Born Again Pagans: folk rock band featuring Miguel Heatwole on drums.
Behind The Wire: a various artists compilation benefiting refugee organisations.
Photos
Bio
Miguel's interest in harmony singing began with Renaissance and Classical choral music and this still influences his composition.
Since the late 80s Miguel has directed the Solidarity Choir - a prominent fixture of the political scene in Sydney. Among the many highlights of Solidarity's career have been gigs for Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and Xanana Gusmao as well as five-week tour of the UK in 2001. Solidarity has also made three excellent CDs: Ten Years Strong, Count Us In and We Shall Not Give Up The Fight!
In 1998 Miguel founded Ecopella. The group describes its repertoire as Save-The-World Music, but behind its sense of humour is a strong commitment to the integrity of its music - much of it original - and the environmental cause it serves. Miguel produced the choir’s first album, An Organism Called Earth in 2003, and its second, Songs In The Key Of Green, in 2008 to celebrate the choir’s 10th anniversary.
Leading the Fire Choir at the Woodford Festival in 2003/4 before an audience of some 50,000 was a terrific highlight in Miguel's busy career. He added this success to a list of festival choirs that include a couple of National Folk Festivals and numerous smaller festivals.
In 2005 he completed Unrest - a suite of choral pieces inspired by the feelings of disturbance natural to any life-loving person in these turbulent and declining times. Each piece deals with an aspect of that unrest, whether part of a collective response to the degradation of our planet and its people, or whether a personal excitement inspired by nature or other human beings. Miguel engaged The Song Company to record the work.
He is also a versatile and passionate singer of folk and world music which he shares with other singers either through elaborate scored arrangements, or in traditional session style. His love of traditional folk singing led him to produce a double album of 43 songs sung by his Sydney mates. It's title track The People Have Songs is Miguel's single most popular folk hit thus far.
If you ask him about this album, no doubt he'll also show you copies of his other productions which include:
Triantán - is the Irish word for 'Triangle' but Judy Pinder, Anthony Woolcott and Miguel are just good friends - and singers of Gaelic songs that will raise the hairs on the back of your neck, weaving harmonies in a melodic, unaccompanied style.
Reynardine - Bill Bostle's songwriting talent is the raison d'etre for this four-piece. Miguel's vocals front some pretty specky clarinet, piano and guitar.
Born Again Pagans - where Miguel met Bill in the rhythm section of this high energy folk rock out fit of the mid 90s.
Behind The Wire - a compilation of 15 songs about asylum seekers written by a variety of Australian artists. Miguel produced the album as a fund raiser for the many community groups supporting and advocating for refugees.
In 2009 Miguel joined with Steve Macdonald, Col Bernau, Rita and James Gibson to cello-string together elements of Celtic, U.S.American and Australian tradition with our own classical and folk-infuenced material.
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