Helen Callus is a British

violist ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

who teaches at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. Callus studied with Ian Jewel at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

in London, earning an Honorary ARAM (Associate of the RAM). She then continued her studies at the

Peabody Conservatory The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...

, where she served as the teaching assistant to

Paul Coletti Paul Coletti (born 1959 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish viola soloist and chamber musician. He has performed throughout the world, making solo appearances at the Sydney Opera House, Queen Elizabeth Hall (London) and Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires). H ...

. At age 26, she was appointed to the faculty of the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

, where she taught for seven years before accepting a position at

UCSB The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

. In 2016, she accepted the position of Professor of Viola at Northwestern University's

Bienen School of Music The Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music is the music and performance arts school of Northwestern University. It is located on Northwestern University's campus in Evanston, Illinois, United States. The school was previously known as the North ...

. Callus served as the President of the

American Viola Society The American Viola Society (AVS) is an organization headquartered in Dallas, Texas that encourages excellence in performance, pedagogy, research, composition, and lutherie by fostering communication and friendship among violists of all skill levels, ...

from 2005–2008. She has also served as the Viola Forum Editor for the

American String Teachers Association The American String Teachers Association (ASTA) is a professional organization for bowed string music teachers based in the United States. It is the largest organization in the U.S. for string teachers. ASTA serves teachers and students in all are ...

Journal, and she founded BRATS (Bratsche Resources And Teaching in the Schools), an educational outreach organization.

Recordings

Callus has made recordings with several labels, including ASV, Analekta, and Dutton Epoch. * ''A Portrait of the Viola'' with Robert McDonald, piano (2002) * ''...Is But a Dream'' with Rebecca Henderson, oboe and Timothy Lovelace, piano (2004) * ''In L'Istesso Tempo'' as a member of the Frank Bridge Ensemble with

Gidon Kremer Gidon Kremer ( lv, Gidons Krēmers; born 27 February 1947) is a Latvian classical violinist, artistic director, and founder of Kremerata Baltica. Life and career Gidon Kremer was born in Riga. His father was Jewish and had survived the Holoc ...

, violin; featuring music by

Giya Kancheli Gia Kancheli ( ka, გია ყანჩელი; 10 August 1935 – 2 October 2019) was a Georgian composer. He was born in Tbilisi, Georgia but resided in Belgium. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kancheli lived first in B ...

(2005) * ''Walton Viola Concerto'' with the

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Wellington, New Zealand. The national orchestra of New Zealand, the NZSO is an autonomous Crown entity owned by the Government of New Zealand, per the New Zealand Sympho ...

(2006) * ''Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet'' with Philip Bush, piano (2007) * ''Gordon Jacob: Complete Music for Viola & Orchestra'' with the

BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale symp ...

(2011) * ''J.S. Bach: Six Cello Suites on Viola'' (2011) * ''Bach - Krebs - Abel'' (2015)

References

Sources

Northwestern University: Helen Callus named Professor of Viola

Biography: Helen Callus’s official website

External links

Helen Callus’s official websiteHelen Callus’s official Facebook page
Living people English classical violists Women violists Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music University of California, Santa Barbara faculty Year of birth missing (living people) {{violist-stub