Photo credit: RocketFAN

By Regan Bartel

Strong vocalist stars before puck drop

Heidi Hewitt brings her singing voice to Kelowna Rockets home games

Feb 26, 2024 | 8:00 AM

The voice of an angel is an expression used to describe someone with a beautiful singing voice.

Heidi Hewitt, the long-time anthem singer for the Kelowna Rockets would fall into that category.

Growing up in Vancouver, before making the Okanagan her home by living in nearby Vernon, Hewitt has a passion for singing, teaching, and musical theatre.

“I started piano lessons when I was three,” Hewitt told RocketFAN. “I have three other brothers, and they are all musical as well. I was told I was singing before I was talking. I was playing piano before I was walking. I loved to perform, and it was so nice when people would come up to me and say I had a nice voice. Of course, I loved that. It built up my confidence.”

If you meet Hewitt for only a few minutes, her zest for life is genuine. Despite an outgoing personality, performance anxiety is something she has had to overcome during her time singing the national anthem in front of thousands of people.

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“I have to confess I don’t [warm up] before singing,” she added. “There have been times when I have been sick. I had a sore throat or a cough. I will use a lozenge stuck into my cheek. Once I was battling some kidney stones, and I was in so much pain, but I didn’t want to let down Annie-Marie [Rockets Marketing Director and Game Day Operations] and I went out and did it. I may have blacked out at one point,” she said with a laugh.

We had to ask Hewitt about the fear of possibly forgetting the words to the national anthem. We have seen many a moment where singers have stepped up to the microphone before huge crowds, only to botch the words and make them up to the dismay of those listening.

“I always stand in the same spot [on the ice]. If you were a friend and came up to me before I sing, I am a little rattled. I guess I go into a bit of a zone until the players come out…now you’ve jinxed me. I am going to screw up.

“The players get a fist pump, so I start clapping along and then the butterflies start going, so I control my breathing and then it just happens. I stare at the flag. I tap into my inner patriarch self.”

Hewitt does have her game face on when it is her time to shine. Whether it is singing ‘Oh Canada’ or the American national anthem, ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ when required, the objective is to make it short and sweet.

“It is about the players,” Hewitt added. “They don’t want to have a concert. If you want to see a concert, I will hook you up. This is about players who have just warmed up, and now they must stand there and wait for awards and speeches and then an anthem singer? No, they need to feel respect and let’s move on with it people. We are at a game here; this is not a concert.”

You would be amazed to learn that Hewitt wasn’t selected the first time she auditioned to sing the anthem at Kelowna Rockets games. Undeterred, she finally made the cut during the 2002-2003 season.

“I was a little scared at the time to sing solo, acapella, and stand in an arena with so many people. It was new to me. I believe it just wasn’t the right time for me.”

Fast forward to today, Hewitt is the Rockets’ go-to singer. If you don’t see her on the ice, a recorded version of her performing the anthems over the Prospera Place sound system can be heard.

“I want people to sing along,” she said. “This is not a me show. I love it when the arena is full of people singing. This is an event that we are all coming to, so yes, please sing along.”

Why does Hewitt do what she does with so much passion?

“I just want to do a good job for the community. I love music and anything associated with it.”