Helen Vollam
Encyclopedia
Helen Vollam is Principal Trombone for the BBC Symphony Orchestra
, appointed in 2004 as the first woman to be appointed principal trombone in a London orchestra, and the first in a UK orchestra since Maisie Ringham of the Halle Orchestra in the last century. She joined the trombone quartet Bones Apart
in 2007 and also plays with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
Helen studied with Eric Crees
, Simon Wills, Peter Gane, John Kenny and Sue Addison at the Guildhall School of Music from 1992 to 1997. Prior to this she studied with Denis Wick, Willi Watson and Anne Higgs. She was a brass finalist in the 1992 BBC Young Musician of the Year competition, and was also a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra, London Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, 2nd Essex Youth Orchestra and the Cambridge Youth Concert Band.
In 1995 she won the bronze medal in the Shell/London Symphony Orchestra Music Scholarship competition for her performance of the Gordon Jacob Trombone Concerto with the LSO. She won the Brass Award and the Philip Jones Memorial Prize in the 2003 Royal Over-Seas League Music Competition, performing in the final at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.
Helen has worked with most of the UK's orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Academy of St Martin in the fields, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, English National Opera, Scottish Opera, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, and BBC National Orchestra of Wales, as well as the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie and Freiburg Barockorchester. She has also worked with chamber music groups such as the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Gaudier Ensemble, Britten Sinfonia, Balsom Ensemble, London Chamber Orchestra, London Brass and Onyx Brass.
Helen has appeared on numerous film and television soundtrack recordings, including Star Wars: The Attack of the Clones
, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
, Around The World In 80 Days, Jane Eyre, The Last King of Scotland
, Miss Potter, Archangel, Fred Claus
, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
, and Inception.
She often appears as a guest principal with the London orchestras, and has given classes, examined and adjudicated at the Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal College of Music and the London College of Music, and has adjudicated for the BBC Young Musician of the Year and Royal Over-Seas League competitions.
She arranges music for Bones Apart Trombone Quartet, and has numerous other brass ensemble arrangements published by BrassWorks and Denis Wick Publishing.
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
, appointed in 2004 as the first woman to be appointed principal trombone in a London orchestra, and the first in a UK orchestra since Maisie Ringham of the Halle Orchestra in the last century. She joined the trombone quartet Bones Apart
Bones Apart
Bones Apart is an English all-female trombone quartet. The group formed in 1999 at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. As of 2008, the group includes Becky Smith, Lorna McDonald, Jayne Murrill, and Helen Vollam...
in 2007 and also plays with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
Helen studied with Eric Crees
Eric Crees
Eric Crees was appointed Principal Trombone of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 2000. Before that he spent twenty-seven years at the London Symphony Orchestra, twenty as Co-Principal Trombone...
, Simon Wills, Peter Gane, John Kenny and Sue Addison at the Guildhall School of Music from 1992 to 1997. Prior to this she studied with Denis Wick, Willi Watson and Anne Higgs. She was a brass finalist in the 1992 BBC Young Musician of the Year competition, and was also a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra, London Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, 2nd Essex Youth Orchestra and the Cambridge Youth Concert Band.
In 1995 she won the bronze medal in the Shell/London Symphony Orchestra Music Scholarship competition for her performance of the Gordon Jacob Trombone Concerto with the LSO. She won the Brass Award and the Philip Jones Memorial Prize in the 2003 Royal Over-Seas League Music Competition, performing in the final at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.
Helen has worked with most of the UK's orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Academy of St Martin in the fields, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, English National Opera, Scottish Opera, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, and BBC National Orchestra of Wales, as well as the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie and Freiburg Barockorchester. She has also worked with chamber music groups such as the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Gaudier Ensemble, Britten Sinfonia, Balsom Ensemble, London Chamber Orchestra, London Brass and Onyx Brass.
Helen has appeared on numerous film and television soundtrack recordings, including Star Wars: The Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas and written by Lucas and Jonathan Hales. It is the fifth film to be released in the Star Wars saga and the second in terms of the series' internal chronology...
, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a 2002 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the second instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman...
, Around The World In 80 Days, Jane Eyre, The Last King of Scotland
The Last King of Scotland (film)
The Last King of Scotland is a 2006 British drama film based on Giles Foden's novel of the same name, adapted by screenwriters Peter Morgan and Jeremy Brock, and directed by Kevin Macdonald...
, Miss Potter, Archangel, Fred Claus
Fred Claus
Fred Claus is a 2007 Christmas family-comedy film produced and directed by David Dobkin, written by Dan Fogelman and Jessie Nelson, and starring Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti.-Plot:...
, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a 2007 fantasy film directed by David Yates and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the fifth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Michael Goldenberg and produced by David Heyman and David Barron...
, and Inception.
She often appears as a guest principal with the London orchestras, and has given classes, examined and adjudicated at the Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal College of Music and the London College of Music, and has adjudicated for the BBC Young Musician of the Year and Royal Over-Seas League competitions.
She arranges music for Bones Apart Trombone Quartet, and has numerous other brass ensemble arrangements published by BrassWorks and Denis Wick Publishing.