Morganton couple brings original music to national festival stage

For Morganton musicians John and Heather Savage, composing music is both a profession and a shared life. Later this month, that partnership will reach a national stage when both of their compositions are performed at the TUTTI New Arts Festival in Ohio.

The multi-day festival, named for the musical term “all together,” brings composers and performers from across the country for concerts, workshops, and lectures focused on contemporary music.

Heather Savage, a composer and adjunct professor in the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University, had her piece “Mountain Heartleaf” selected for a performance by a woodwind quintet. The piece was commissioned for a project focused on threatened or endangered plant species in North Carolina.

“The mountain heartleaf is a type of wild ginger that’s threatened in North Carolina, in the mountains specifically,” she said. “It’s a 5-minute piece, but it’s all these 1-minute movements that are about different characteristics of the plant.”

While Heather’s composition will be performed by a professional ensemble, John will take the stage himself. His piece, “Sidewinder,” was selected for a category whose composers perform their own work. The composition is written for an instrument known as the mandocello, a member of the mandolin family that resembles a guitar-sized version of a mandolin.

John wrote the piece shortly after purchasing the instrument from Morganton Music Patch and experiencing its sound.

“I wrote it the day I brought the mandocello home,” he said.

The festival performance will be John’s first time submitting a composition to a festival of this kind. Heather, who has been composing and submitting works to festivals for years, said events like TUTTI typically select pieces through a process known as a call for scores, where composers submit their work to be reviewed by festival organizers.

Although the Savages submitted their pieces to the festival separately, they did not initially realize they would both be selected. John learned that “Sidewinder” had been accepted more than a month before Heather received notification that “Mountain Heartleaf” made the cut.

After performing at TUTTI, John will travel a couple hours to Heidelberg University to perform “Sidewinder” again for its New Music Festival. For Heather, the upcoming performance continues a busy season of travel and performances across the country. Earlier this year, her work appeared in orchestras in Indiana and Arkansas.

Despite the travel, the couple now calls Morganton home after moving to the area in 2024, just before Hurricane Helene. The couple moved from Rhode Island, where they met at the University of Rhode Island, to pursue a master’s degree in composition at Appalachian State University after receiving a full tuition scholarship and fellowship.

“I said if I get it, we’ll move,” she said. “And that’s what happened.”

Heather and John said the opportunities they have found since moving to the region have helped shape their creative work. For John, that has included teaching guitar at Morganton Music Patch and performing at local businesses, including Toner’s, Fonta Flora, and more. Before he transitioned back to being a full-time musician, John was a pastor for more than 15 years in Rhode Island.

Heather is an accompanist at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Hickory and for the Swannanoa Valley Community Chorus in Black Mountain. The couple, who previously owned a music school in Rhode Island, are exploring the idea of a community choir in Morganton.

Teaching continues to be at the center of their musical careers, with Heather recently releasing an online piano course. Even with busy schedules and frequent travel, the couple said they are glad to call Morganton home, while giving back to the community.

“I think that’s part of how you can give back to the community, by helping other people enjoy music to a new level,” Heather said.