Mr. James Heiks, Conductor Emeritus and one of the founders of the Appleton Boychoir is currently the Appleton Boychoir Camp Director.  Each August he conducts the treasured activities at Camp Friedenswald.

A native of Ohio, Mr. Heiks received his Bachelor’s Degree from Bluffton College, Bluffton, Ohio and his Masters of Music Degree from Northwestern University.  

An accomplished musician as well as conductor, Mr. Heiks has studied french horn under Frank Brouk of the Chicago Symphony, and Composition with Alice Parker at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey.

He joined the Goshen College music faculty in January of 2004 after a thirty-year career in the Appleton Area School District. He taught Choral Music at Appleton’s North and East High School, Einstein Middle School, and Highlands Elementary School. He is now the Fine Arts Coordinator for the Appleton Area School District.

His choirs have performed throughout Eastern Europe, Italy, Scandinavia, Mexico and Japan. In 1997, he received the Kohl Fellowship for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching from US Senator Herb Kohl, and was nominated for Wisconsin Teacher of the Year. As a student and colleague of Alice Parker, he is currently collaborating with her on a new folk songbook series titled: “Alice Parker’s Hand Me Down Songs.” 

Jim and his wife, Gail, who recently retired from Ferber Elementary School, have three children, the oldest of which (Sam) is an alumnus of the Appleton Boychoir.

The Appleton Boychoir is a proud member of: