
I've had the pleasure and honor of working with musicians as a performance anxiety coach for ten years, and teaching flute in Chapel Hill for 23 years. My studio career earned national attention because of my innovative approach to music education, emphasizing the joy of music and its ability to enrich life. My
students performed in venues as diverse as our local ice cream parlor and on a flute trip to London, England. My passion, coaching musicians to perform with confidence, consistency, focus, and self-compassion incorporated my background in education, counseling, music and public speaking. This later-in-life profession found me in an unexpected way, and I now spend most of my time working in my Chapel Hill office using the phone and Skype to reach my clients who are all over the world.
My book A Flute in My Refrigerator: Celebrating a Life in Music was published this summer and is available through Amazon or at the festival. Filled with uplifting, endearing stories of my adventures as a flute teacher, adult learner, performer, and more, this book is written from the heart and abounds with treasures uncovered when love and passion guide a life.
“Rarely does someone share that which is truly meaningful in her life on
such an intimate level. Helen describes the depths of her musical journey with
dignity, forthrightness, enormous grace, enthusiasm and love. This book
is a page turner, not because of some adventure story, but because of the pure
honesty and courage of its expression. It is only the time of night that
compels me to stop reading.” –-Brooks de Wetter-Smith, James Gordon Hanes Distinguished Professor of Flute, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
I look forward to seeing everyone at the festival, and I thank Jane Salemson and all the volunteers for their hard work in bringing it to life!
students performed in venues as diverse as our local ice cream parlor and on a flute trip to London, England. My passion, coaching musicians to perform with confidence, consistency, focus, and self-compassion incorporated my background in education, counseling, music and public speaking. This later-in-life profession found me in an unexpected way, and I now spend most of my time working in my Chapel Hill office using the phone and Skype to reach my clients who are all over the world.
My book A Flute in My Refrigerator: Celebrating a Life in Music was published this summer and is available through Amazon or at the festival. Filled with uplifting, endearing stories of my adventures as a flute teacher, adult learner, performer, and more, this book is written from the heart and abounds with treasures uncovered when love and passion guide a life.
“Rarely does someone share that which is truly meaningful in her life on
such an intimate level. Helen describes the depths of her musical journey with
dignity, forthrightness, enormous grace, enthusiasm and love. This book
is a page turner, not because of some adventure story, but because of the pure
honesty and courage of its expression. It is only the time of night that
compels me to stop reading.” –-Brooks de Wetter-Smith, James Gordon Hanes Distinguished Professor of Flute, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
I look forward to seeing everyone at the festival, and I thank Jane Salemson and all the volunteers for their hard work in bringing it to life!