Originally from the historic Mississippi River town of Alton Illinois, just north of St. Louis, Kory Heitzig moved to Kalamazoo in late 2008. Alton is the home of the world’s tallest man, and is just a stone’s throw from Wicks Organ Company, the builder of First Congregational’s beautiful instrument. Kory has been active as a church musician for more than half his life, having accepted his first position at the age of 14 at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception’s Wicks Opus 2611 (1949). Since that time, he has held the positions of pianist, organist, accompanist, and Director of Music at churches in both Illinois and Michigan.
Kory has a passion for live performance and musical theater, which developed through high school and during his time at University of Illinois and Western Michigan University. Kory has stayed active locally, performing frequently as pianist, keyboardist, and accompanist for theater productions including contributions to productions at the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre, Farmers Alley Theatre, and at Portage Central High School. Kory has collaborated as accompanist for Kalamazoo Choral Arts (formerly the Kalamazoo Bach Festival), the Kalamazoo College Singers, Kalamazoo Regional Education Service Agency’s (KRESA) Education for the Arts (EFA) program, and the Kalamazoo Male Chorus. Kory serves as a collaborative pianist for students at Western Michigan University and serves as a Board Member for the Stulberg International String Competition. Kory enjoys spending his days working full time with the renowned Gilmore International Piano Festival managing operations and their large volunteer base.
