You may know Heidi Swedberg as Susan, George Costanza’s fiancee on “Seinfeld” who died licking wedding invitation envelopes. She has acted in a variety of other television shows and movies but has an even longer history with the ukulele.

When she was 5 years old Heidi, received her first ukulele from the Hawaiian Easter bunny while living in Kailua, HI. She has fond memories of teaching herself chords (she claims to have invented the Em chord at the age of eight) and writing songs in her room in Albuquerque NM and reintroduced herself to the uke in Hollywood, while playing a singer-songwriter for a network TV pilot. She is passionate about people, which is why she loves the ukulele. Encouraging others to engage and connect through music, she teaches and performs for all ages, from the smallest children to older adults. She is a regular columnist for Ukulele Magazine and collaborates with her partner Daniel Ward on recordings and instructional books, including “Color-Along Ukulele”, available at their website SukeyJumpMusic.com. Based in Los Angeles, they have helped start uke programs in schools, hospitals, orphanages, churches and libraries internationally, and love making new friends at ukulele and children’s music festivals around the globe.

Daniel Ward was born in Los Alamos NM, where he exposed to a wide variety of musical styles, including Mexican mariachi, Spanish flamenco, world music and jazz. By the time Daniel completed his degree in classical guitar and composition, he was playing flamenco guitar with dancers, electric jazz, trumpet, lute and world beat music. As a guitarist, he toured with Dance España, Maria Benitez, and Yjastros, went around the world with Ottmar Liebert, and toured with numerous other groups, playing everything from soft jazz to hard rock.

In 2009, he was introduced to the ukulele and all of the music inside him found a new home on the four strings. Since then, he has become a premier ukulele performer and clinician, known for his command of Latin and world styles, with an expressive right hand that delivers beauty, speed and force. He has been a featured performer and workshop instructor at many ukulele festivals across the country and most recently the Ukulele Festival of Great Britain. His first ukulele CD recording “El Ukulele” is a lively adventure in what the instrument can do. http://www.danielward.net/