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Jim Heffernan
Jim Heffernan was born in Chicago, IL, in 1954 and began studying the clarinet at age 10.
He received a scholarship to study music at Quincy College where he earned a Bachelor’s of
Science degree in Music Education. He then went on to Michigan State University where he
earned a Master’s of Music degree in clarinet performance. In 1978 he became the clarinet
instructor at Central Missouri State University. After 2 years he left to go back to Chicago where
his family owned an electrical contracting business. Joining the electrical union it only took
one year for him to realize he wanted to further his education. In 1981 he became the graduate
assistant teaching clarinet at Michigan State University and began working on the Ph.D. in Music
Performance, Theory, and Literature. In 1983, with all of the course work and recitals completed
for the PhD., he took a teaching position at Central Michigan University. After 4 years the allure
of performing for a living took hold and he auditioned for and won a position with the United
States Army Field Band, “the Musical Ambassadors of the Army”, in Washington, DC. He
spent 20 years there, 16 of them as the principal clarinetist, concertmaster, and featured soloist.
During that time he performed all over the world and did hundreds of clinics and master classes
at major universities and colleges in the U.S.
Although the Army Field Band was a dream career with a good salary, it became apparent that
Army retirement would not be enough to live on. Going back to college teaching was not an
option as it no longer had any appeal. So at the 10 year mark of his career he began thinking
about real estate. One late night in a hotel (the band was on the road 120 days a year) he saw an
infomercial for a real estate investing course. Band tours lasted 4-6 weeks with 2-7 hours a day
on the bus between cities. Obviously there was a lot of time to study, so he bought the books/
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