YOUNG ARTIST USES MUSIC AS INSTRUMENT TO WITNESS

by Gladys Neigel
“I thank God every day for my talents,” says Heather Clark, 18, a Saint Augustine Church member. “I’ve never been able to understand why I can do the things I do, but I’ve decided to go ahead and accept that God knows what He’s doing with me, and I want to follow Him wherever He leads.”
Heather uses her gift as a classical guitarist to provide special music for worship services by playing her own hymn arrangements. She’s an integral part of a youth group that meets Friday evenings for Bible study. Recently, Heather played for a youth-organized Daniel Seminar.
“She wants to use her talents to help others,” says Thomson Paris, youth leader. “Her goal is to become a music therapist. Heather gives a deeper and fresher meaning to the songs she plays and sings, like her rendition of Lord, I Want to Be a Christian, which is powerful.”
Heather also has opportunities to share Christ at her high school such as playing for beginning music classes to give them a feel for classical guitar. In addition, she participated in spring and winter concerts at her school which are still rebroadcast on local television.
Known as one of the top 27 classical guitarists at the high school level in Florida, she was selected as one of four students from her school to participate in the All-State Guitar Concert held during a Florida Music Educator’s Conference in Tampa. Heather has played guitar for seven years and started taking classical lessons three years ago from guitar instructor Trey Brewer who says she is one of the students “who eat, drink, and sleep guitar.”