Here at Heritage High School, we have incredibly talented students who use their musical abilities to create outstanding music.
Starting off strong with sophomore Karen Trestrail, she plays trumpet, piano, and guitar. She is heavily influenced by artists such as Rihanna, Adele, and Sombr. She experiments with various genres of music, including folk, pop, jazz, and even country. The songs she writes are all based around events that have occurred in her own life. She uses this as inspiration to create poetic and meaningful lyrics. Her favorite song she has ever written at the moment is entitled “Written Thoughts.” This song showcases the struggles of our minds over consuming ourselves with so many thoughts.
Senior Ceci Ward is an incredibly gifted singer whose powerful vocals add so much to her amazing lyricism. She was the winner of the Songbirds Talent Show, and because of this was given a four hour timeslot in a professional recording studio. Her music, especially one of her favorite songs “Secretly Living,” explores themes of how unpredictable life tends to be and navigating that path alone. She hopes to someday release her music. With her unique indie sound and powerful lyrics, it is clear that Ward has a bright musical future and we are so excited to see what she does next.
HalfTime, a band led by junior Aiden Tipton, is a punk/alternative rock group. The band consists of sophomores Zach Hyde, Kamden Watson, Blade Kelley and junior Aiden Tipton. Hyde plays the drums, Watson does harmonies and plays bass, Tipton writes the lyrics and plays lead guitar, and Kelly plays rhythm guitar. The band’s name originates from the members meeting each other at half-time shows in marching band. This symbolic name shows their dedication to one another and music.
On April 11th, HalfTime is excited to announce their new single called “Mistake.” This single explores themes of struggling with mental health, and the stigma surrounding being born of a teen pregnancy. This heartfelt single truly encompasses the feeling of being born a “mistake” and the band hopes that lots of people will relate and connect to it. HalfTime will perform this song at the HHS talent show.
Josh Hixon, a senior who goes by the moniker Hixon on spotify and soundcloud makes rap and r&b style music. His latest release was entitled P!NK. This 11 track album was released on October 31st, 2025, and Hixon is very excited to see what he can write next.
“I get to express myself in a creative way, and there’s not really a boundary to it,” said Hixon.
Sophomore Mason Courtney-Soper plays the piccolo, oboe, flute, tenor saxophone, and English horn. Courtney-Soper uses his knowledge of instruments to compose many new and interesting pieces that many describe as classical and tactful. His favorite song is named “Similitude,” and he composed it for the spring band concert last year. Courtney-Soper is extremely talented and has a bright future ahead in music.
Freshman Jacob Kim enjoys writing songs about himself and his personal experiences, playing the acoustic guitar. He has a deep connection to songwriting as this was introduced to him by his grandfather at a young age. One of his favorite songs he’s played is “Mirrors” which is a very deep and emotional song , capturing the fear of the future in a beautifully written and inspirational way. He says that late nights where he’s staying up and thinking fuel his creative mindset.
“To be so indulged in such a beautiful art form is really amazing … I very much enjoy being able to express myself in a way that engraves itself into time,” said Kim.
It is great to see how we have a community of talented people at heritage. It’s important that we encourage these generals to continue the great path they’re on because one day we might just be watching them at their very own concert.
