Helen began her musical career as a classical violinist and pianist. She began composing in 2011 and has since become known as a prolific and accomplished composer.
In 2013 and 2014 she studied at the Sound and Music Summer School for Young Composers training in vocal & world music composition. In the same years, she began her career as a singer-songwriter by releasing her first singles online.
Helen's first album 'The Little CD of Optimistic Sadness' was released in November 2014. She followed this with three other amateur albums and a fifth album released as a demo.
In 2016 she joined the Indie Electronic band Munchies as a songwriter and electric violinist. She regularly performed and recorded with the band beginning her experimentation with modern violin techniques and electronic compositions. Some of these experiments became her first electronica EP.
In 2018 she graduated with a first-class degree and the Turton Prize for BA Music from Middlesex University. Following this she graduated with a Masters in Music from the Leeds Conservatoire in 2020.
Helen has written three string quartets, several solo piano works, an opera, and over 400 songs.
She has previously trained with Brian Inglis, Eliza Carthy, Alexis Bennett, and Nancy Kerr.
Releases & Achievements
2012 - Achieved 100% for Composition and Theory at GCSE Level
2013/14 - Attended the Sound and Music Summer School for Younger Composers
2014 - Released Debut Album 'The Little CD of Optimistic Sadness'
2015 - Released three further albums: 'Sorry What?', 'Something Very Witty' and 'Up The Creek'
- Began studying Classical Composition at Middlesex University
- Composed first String Quartet: By the Waterside
2016 - Achieved a first class mark for Musicianship & Theory
- Won MDX Got Talent 2016 and became the first headliner of MDX Summerfest
- Joined Munchies UK as a Songwriter & Electric Violinist
2017 - Composed second String Quartet: Fork in the Mountain (recorded the same year by the Allegri String Quartet)
- Received first public composition premiere: two piano works performed by Ian Pace at Middlesex University
2018 - Third String Quartet publicly premiered by the Allegri String Quartet at Middlesex University
- Composed and premiered a short Opera
- Graduated from Middlesex University with First Class Honours and the Turton Prize for Music
- Began studying Creative Musicianship at the Leeds Conservatoire
- Released first Electronica EP 'Fighting Talk'
- Composed a short Operetta based on Greek Mythology and the effects of PTSD
2019 - Released second Electronica EP 'Mama' and third 'The Platform'
- Composed and premiered 25 minute alternative-folk song-cycle about family
- Graduated with Merit from the Leeds Conservatoire
2020 - Participated in the House of Europe Songwriting Camp at the Leeds Conservatoire
- Released Electronica EP 'Kaleidoscope'
Highlights
The Spectrum
A Journey of Internal Exploration (2018 - TBC)
The Spectrum is a collection of 6 three-song electronica EPs exploring a different concept in each. The overarching theme is that life is a spectrum. 'Fighting Talk' (09/18) covers the concept of gender and equality. 'Mama' (03/19) tells of family and blood. 'The Platform' (06/19) is about fame and the influence of social media. 'Kaliedoscope' (07/20) is based on emotions and change. 'Pendulum' covers nature and the outside world. The final instalment, 'Justified', speaks of law and morality.
Helen has been working on this collection for five years. The first songs were written during Helen's final year of her degree as demos for her band Munchies and the latest releases written at the end of her masters training. This project was Helen's first venture into electronic music.
Mama
Stepping into a New World (03/2019)
Mama is the second instalment of Spectrum written at the beginning of Helen's second term at the Leeds College of Music. The challenge of doing equal if not better to the success of 'Fighting Talk' was a hard one, but Mama succeeded all expectations both musically and through sales and streams. This EP brought a new dark and atmospheric vibe to Helen's music and has been highly rated by her audience. Mama is the first work by Helen to include volume automation and expansive panning.
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Six Sided Earth
Down to the Roots (Exp. 2024)
Helen is currently working on a debut folk album containing a mixture of traditional and original songs. Some originals contain lyrics from the Bodleian Broadside collection, with songs dating back to 1864 and earlier.
It's taken five years of training at the Dartington International Summer School for Helen to gain the courage to step fully into the folk world. This album will be her first since the 2017 unreleased work 'Savious' and contains genre-bending tracks merging her electronic work from 'Spectrum' with traditional British folk music and her original acoustic songwriting style.
0per.a
Viral Sensations (2018)
0per.a was written and performed at Middlesex University in the Spring of 2018. The 20-minute contemporary opera was a character play about the influence of social media on personality traits and how certain people are attracted to certain kinds of media. It played with the idea that people become silhouettes of the apps they use. The characters had no names but were referred to by their medias: Instagram, Facebook, Tinder, and The Guardian (or other news medias). The instrumentalists were labelled Spotify, Tumblr, Wikipedia and the conductor (originally portrayed by Helen) as Google. The work contained a rock solo, an ad break, and several interrupted news moments. It was received well and will hopefully be re-staged and performed again soon.
The Life of Seiler
A Welcome Change (2018-2019)
During her time at the Leeds College of Music, Helen created three significant works:
The first was a short operetta called 'Requiem to a Sleeper'. In which Hades, affected by PTSD over a recent loss, dreams that Persephone will abandon him. The work mixed pop vocals and tropes with a string orchestra set around a piano.
The second, 'The Life of Seiler', was an alternative folk song-cycle about the three women in Helen's close family history.
It began with a reflection on life in rural England and the changes that came with World War II for her grandmother. The second movement talked of financial struggles of the late 90s and used additive rhythm to imitate the broken metronome on her mother's piano.
The work finished with a reflection on her own life; on living in London during the 2017 bombings, her struggle with her identity, finishing with how the three lives blend together to make her who she is.
Her final recital, 'The Art of Being Clueless', was a collection of solo pop works from 2017-19 re-arranged and adapted for a small ensemble.
The latter two works were graded distinction in performance and composition and Helen graduated with a merit in 2020.