Violinist • Violin Teacher
About
Helena performs extensively, and has given solo concerts and recitals on both international and local stages at venues such as at Comune di Porto San Giorgio (Italy), Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall, Jubilee Hall, Esplanade Recital Studio, and University Cultural Centre. She has, on several occasions, performed as a soloist with the National University of Singapore Symphony Orchestra and the M’ode Orchestra.Helena is actively involved in orchestral and chamber music as well. The quartet in which she led during her studies at YMS was featured in the BBC documentary, “Made in Britain”. Helena has performed as a chamber musician in concerts at prestigious venues such as the Wigmore Hall, National Art Gallery (London), and Saanen Church (Gstaad). Throughout her time at the RCM, Helena has led and co-led various RCM orchestral projects in venues around London including St Paul’s Cathedral, St James’s Piccadilly, and Alexandra Palace. After returning to Singapore following the completion of her studies, Helena has been playing in the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) as well as the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra (MFO) as a freelancer.
Helena has played in masterclasses given by renowned musicians, such as Aaron Rosand, Ayke Agus, Mihaela Tomescu, Arlette Bonamy, Goetz Richter, and the Wihan Quartet. She also has a strong passion for teaching and working with young musicians, and has spent time at the Yehudi Menuhin School as a teaching assistant to her Professor, Natalia Boyarsky. Helena is eager in sharing the invaluable knowledge she has attained through her studies abroad, to in turn shape and mold the development of classical music in future generations. She currently teaches at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), School of Young Talents.
Helena Dawn Yah started playing the violin at the age of 2, under the tutelage of Ms Yah Wan Har. She completed her Grade 8 Violin Exam when she was 9, and attained the ATCL (Diploma in Violin Recital) when she was 11. While at School of the Arts (SOTA) Helena was awarded the Ngee Ann Kongsi Scholarship. She was inducted into the Artistically Gifted Programme, and studied under Mr Lim Soon Lee, who was then the Associate Principal of String Performance at SOTA and Music Director of Singapore National Youth Orchestra. As the top student in music and academics in her cohort at SOTA, Helena was presented the Excellence Award. She was also awarded the Most Improved Student Award (Music) and an Outstanding Performance Award for her contribution in Chamber Music.
In 2009, Helena began her 4-year Specialist Music and Academic Course at the prestigious, world-renowned Yehudi Menuhin School (YMS) in the United Kingdom. At the YMS, she studied under the School’s Head of Strings Natalia Boyarsky, and continued her studies with her at the Royal College of Music, London (RCM) for her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. Helena was a Gylla Godwin and an Ian Evans Lombe Scholar throughout her time at the RCM. She was a recipient of the Lee Foundation Study Grant, SSO FJ Benjamin Bursary Award, as well as the National Arts Council’s Gifted Young Musician’s Bursary. Helena was also the inaugural winner of the Goh Soon Tioe Centenary Award.
A prizewinner of several international competitions, Helena’s notable awards include the Remember Enescu Violin Competition’s Premiul Special “Papillon” Prize, Premiul Mentiune, and the Competition Book Prize, as well as the Silver Award (2nd Prize), and Distinction Award at the 6th Asian Youth Music Competition. She also won the Gold Award at the 2nd Performers’ Festival, and was a finalist and recipient of the Honorable Mention at the 51st Kocian Violin Competition.