MEET THE MUSICIANS

PRINCIPAL VIOLIN II KRISTI HELBERG

Violinist, Kristi Helberg, enjoys spanning many musical and cultural settings, from performing in the Salzburg Festival as a member of the Orchestral Institute at Attergau under the patronage and tutelage of the Vienna Philharmonic, to performing as a core member of Symphony in the Barn, a music festival created in the context of living and working on a biodynamic farm in Canada. With a serious interest in collaborative and new music settings, Ms. Helberg has premiered over thirty compositions and performed in such contexts as Alarm Will Sound New Music Ensemble, New York’s MATA Young Composers NOW! Festival, and in collaboration with New York-based music collective, Wet Ink Ensemble.

On the more traditional side, she is Principal of the Chamber Orchestra of New York, has previously acted as Principal of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, and has performed regularly with the Houston Symphony and the New Jersey Symphony. Ms. Helberg will also join the Sarasota Opera Orchestra this winter for their 2009 season. As a member of The Knights, a New York-based chamber orchestra, Ms. Helberg will travel with the ensemble on a tour to Germany and Ireland with Dawn Upshaw this May following the release of two albums recently recorded for the Sony Classical label. She has also recently recorded the Feldman Clarinet Quintet for Innova Records and Furious Artisans, and String Quintets by Antonio Capuzzi for Cinnabar records, both forthcoming.

Currently residing in New York City, Ms. Helberg has performed in a wide variety of venues including the city’s more traditional Bargemusic, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall, Merkin Hall, Symphony Space, and Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall and Isaac Stern Auditorium. As an educator in New York, she has enjoyed maintaining a private studio, teaching in an after-school music program in South Bronx public schools, and teaching in Manhattan School of Music’s Outreach Program as well as their Summer Camp dedicated to New York City public school students.

Ms. Helberg received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music where she acted as Teaching Assistant to Kenneth Goldsmith, and recently finished professional studies in the Orchestral Performance Program at the Manhattan School of Music where she was a student of Glenn Dicterow and Lisa Kim.