Helen Callus has been described by critics as “a player with impeccable sensibilities and a beautiful sound, infinitely malleable into all kinds of musical subtleties” The Seattle Times.
Her debut recording Portrait of the Viola with Robert McDonald - piano [ASV CD
DCA1130] released in 2002 was met with the highest of critical acclaim. Gramophone magazine described the disc as “a superbly stylish recording, always with flexibility and poetry in abundance. No other recording surpasses this newcomer in terms of sweep or communicative ardor.” Strings magazine described Ms. Callus as a “violist of the highest caliber.”
Her second recording for ASV released in June 2006 features Ms. Callus with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marc Taddei in concertos by William Walton, York Bowen and Vaughan Williams and includes the sublime Elegy by Herbert Howells for solo viola, string quartet and string orchestra. Gramophone writes “Helen Callus plays with a sumptuous tone matched by flawless intonation to give the most beautiful account I have ever heard of the Walton Concerto” giving the disk it’s highest recommendation. The Strad magazine writes: “In the
Howell’s haunting Elegy, Callus really comes into her own, beguiling the ear with her fine spun, sinewy tone.” The disc has been named “Orchestral Disk of the Month” by the British Classic FM Magazine and “Recording of the Month” by Music Web International.
Ms. Callus records solo repertoire exclusively with ASV Sanctuary Classics UK, but has also collaborated with Boston Records [BR1057CD] and her recording for ECM New Series with the Bridge Ensemble of Giya Kancheli’s Piano Quartet in L’istesso Tempo also featuring Gidon Kremer on the disc [ECM New Series 1767], was chosen as BBC Music Magazine’s Best Choice for Chamber Music Recording in April 2005. Recordings for the future include a compilation disc of romantic repertoire for viola and piano to be recorded in Frankfurt, Germany and a second
British concerti recording.
As a recitalist, chamber music collaborator and concerto soloist, Ms. Callus has delighted audiences in major cities around the world including those of Russia, Europe, New Zealand, Australia and Canada and extensively throughout the US. In 2003, whilst a guest at Brigham Young University for the Primrose Memorial Recital, Ms. Callus performed with the world renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir in Salt Lake City to an audience of 4,000 and broadcast to over 2,000 television stations around the world. A busy chamber music artist, Ms. Callus has performed
at many chamber music festivals such as the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, the Palaces of St. Petersburg (Russia) Chamber Music Festival and the Dilijan Chamber Music Series at Zipper Hall, Los Angeles to name a few. Ms. Callus has performed at several major international viola congresses since 2001, including those of New Zealand, Seattle (of which she was the host-chair), Kronberg in Germany and Minnesota and is due to perform at the international congress in
Australia in 2007.
Ms. Callus is a regular solo artist on radio and TV and can be heard regularly on such programs as Performance Today and in interviews on National Public Radio, Public Radio International and Radio New Zealand. She was heard for the second time on National Public Radio’s broadcast Saint Paul Sunday in 2005 as solo guest with pianist Phillip Bush in a program called ‘Hidden Treasures’, a compilation of beautiful previously unknown works for viola and piano.
The show broadcasts to over 1 million listeners around the globe.
Ms. Callus currently serves as Associate Professor of Viola at the University of California, Santa Barbara and is the President of the American Viola Society accepting the honor of being the first women elected to that title. She is also the Viola Forum Editor for the American String Teachers Association Journal and was the founder of the educational outreach organization BRATS (Bratsche Resources And Teaching in the Schools) first brought to national attention in the February 2002 issue of STRAD Magazine. Her first teaching appointment at the age of 26 was to the faculty of The University of Washington where she taught for seven years. Herself a prize winner at several major competitions including the Tertis International Viola Competition, she has adjudicated for ASTA and was Chair of the jury for the Primrose International Viola Competition in 2003. Most recently, Ms. Callus has accepted the position of Artistic Director of the Centrum Chamber Music Series situated on the Olympic Peninsula in Port Townsend
just north of Seattle.
She is much in demand across the country as a visiting professor and has taught
masterclasses at some of the nation’s leading schools of music as well as for organisations such as the American String Teachers Association National Conference. In 2005 Ms. Callus was invited as the guest of honor for the Australian Teaching Association and Australian National Youth
Orchestra’s ‘Year of the Viola’ Festival held outside of Sydney where she performed the opening gala recital and taught a masterclass. She has written numerous articles for both the international STRAD magazine and national STRINGS magazine. Herself the subject of numerous feature
articles, the Strings magazine stated in its 2005 article titled “The Advocate” that Ms. Callus “might just be the best friend the viola world ever had”.
A native of Kent, England, Ms. Callus graduated from The Royal Academy of Music in London as a student of Ian Jewel. She was most recently bestowed an Honorary ARAM (Associate of the RAM) for her achievements in the field. She continued her graduate studies at the Peabody Conservatory in Maryland where she was the teaching assistant to Paul Coletti. Ms Callus plays on a viola made by Gabrielle Kundert.
For more information please visit www.helencallus.com
