Music runs deep 
Two sisters and their music

Author: Sharron Arksey

Heather Jean Jordan and Theresa Thordarson, sisters and musicians, are making names for themselves across western Canada.

Heather Jean and Theresa are the daughters of Philip and Phyllis Thordarson of Langruth. Their paternal great-grandparents, Jon and Gudfinna (Tomasdottir) Thordarson, came to Canada from Iceland, settling first in the Churchbridge area of what is now Saskatchewan and later moving to a farm north of Langruth along the western shores of Lake Manitoba. It is on that farm – close to lake, marsh, and the birds and fish that inhabit them – that the sisters grew up, gaining an aesthetic close to nature and their Icelandic ancestry.

Music runs deep in the family. Grandfather Gordon played his fiddle with a community orchestra. Dad Philip is a pianist and uncle Doug Thordarson, also a fiddler, is a well-known figure in the Vancouver music scene.

Heather Jean, the elder of the two sisters, trained as an opera singer at Brandon University before finding her voice in folk music. After moving with her husband Tyler Jordan to Banff in 2008, she now considers herself both Mountain and Prairie. Her vocals, accompanied by ukelele, are steeped in myth and magic.

Earlier this year she was named Banff’s Poet Laureate for 2025 and 2026. In that capacity, she worked this spring with more than three hundred students at Banff Elementary School to prepare and produce an original song.

“A Single Seed,” the song created with Heather Jean’s guidance, was written and performed as a message for the upcoming G7 Summit at Kananaskis June 15-17. With its refrain, “a world for everyone, not just yours and mine,” the song is full of the kind of big ideas that young minds give voice to. Listeners are moved the first time they hear the song, and the words and video linger long in memory.

It is not the first time that Heather’s music has helped to bring the Banff community together. In the early days of the COVID-19 lockdown, she made the daily trek to St. George-in-the-Pines Anglican Church where she served as music director. At 1:00 p.m. every day, she rang the church bells. Her daily musical performances included renditions of Amazing Grace, Ode to Joy, and Beatles’ songs, such as All My Loving.

Videos from the time show Banff residents coming out of their homes to listen to the music emanating from the church. It gave them hope, they told reporters from various publications.

A gifted and versatile performer, Heather Jean honours the folk tradition while drawing from a wide range of influences and genres. Career highlights include performing (virtually) at Folk Alliance International in 2021, performances at Canmore ArtSpace, a solo show in August 2023 at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity Amphitheatre, and the release of her debut album, Some Dappled Night.

Heather Jean has been performing, teaching, and leading musical experiences across the prairies for more than a decade.

When possible, she and her younger sister Theresa perform together. 

A graduate of music programs at Brandon University and the State University of New York at Fredonia, Theresa now lives in Winnipeg.

Theresa Thor, as she is known professionally, has a lengthy list of performances to her credit, including concerts for the Brandon Chamber Players, Virtuosi Concerts, Send and Receive, Nuit Blanche Winnipeg, and the Lethbridge Centric Festival. She also sings, synths, and writes adventurous pop music as one half of the duo Bicycle Face with guitarist Ava Glendinning. Her album Revery debuted in August 2024.

A recent composition entitled “Hypoballad” is based on the lives of Icelandic twin sisters Herdís and Ólína Andrésdóttir and takes inspiration from the work of Fredric Chopin, Icelandic folk traditions, and Björk Guðmundsdóttir. Herdís (1858–1939) and Ólina (1858–1935) were poets whose work focused on nature and the everyday lives of peasant women. “Hypoballad” covers their childhood, the tragic death of their father at sea, their 50-year separation, and eventual reunion in the early 1920s.

In addition to composing and performing, Theresa and her soon-to-be husband John Himes provide musical instruction in various communities across the province, including her hometown of Langruth. In February 2025, she was an adjudicator at the Winkler Festival of the Arts.