All About Me
A native of Florida, Helen began her musical training as a pianist at the age of 5 and by the time she was 13 years old, she made her solo début with the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra, performing the Haydn Piano Concerto in D Major.
Mrs. Ahn has won numerous competitions including; the Florida Flute Association Young Artist Competition, South Eastern Michigan Flute Association Young Artist Competition, Florida Music Teachers National Association Concerto Competition, the Brevard Young Artist Competition, 3rd prize winner of the 2001 Annual Bach Festival Young Artist Competition in Winter Park, Florida, and recently received a second prize at the 2006 Byron Hester Flute Competition in Houston, Texas. In 2007, Helen competed at the Myrna Brown Artist Competition in Denton, TX. Her distinguished talent in music has been highly acknowledged among many artists.
As an orchestral and chamber musician, she has received a full-scholarship to attend the Aspen Music School and Festival in 2005 and the Las Vegas Music Festival in 2006. She has been awarded as the 'Best Soloist Award' in the 2003 Annual Dixie Classic Festival in Virginia Beach, VA. She has recently performed with the Eastman Philharmonia, Eastman Wind Ensemble, Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra, Bel Cantanti Opera and served as the principal flutist for the Michigan Youth Orchestra and the Brevard Symphony Youth Orchestra for many years. She has performed under some of the world's leading conductors and musicians, including Mallory Thompson, David Zinman, James DePriest, George Manahan, Murray Sidlin, Mark Scatterday, and Neil Varon. As a chamber musician, her quintet, A441 Wind Quintet were featured soloists with the Island Chamber Symphony, performing Mozart's Symphony Concertante at New York Institute of Technology, and competed at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Coleman National Chamber Music Competition, and the Plowman National Chamber Music Competition. The Quintet's live performances and conversation have been broadcasted live on Rochester Channel 13 & 10 News.
Helen received the Howard Hanson Merit Scholarship to study at the #1-ranked music conservatory in the U.S., Eastman School of Music in New York (U.S. News and World Report) in the studio of Professor Bonita Boyd. In 2008, she was rewarded Ekstein Graduate Teaching Scholarship to study with the former Principal Flutist of the Chicago Symphony, Walfrid Kujala at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois where she received her Masters Degree. Her primary teachers include Walfrid Kujala, Bonita Boyd, Amy Porter, Penelope Fischer, Jeffrey Zook, and Nancy Clew.
Teaching is her passion. Helen has a wonderful private music studio with a group of talented and gifted students. A devoted educator, Mrs. Ahn has previously served as global lecturer and taught abroad at Asia Pacific International School, Hanyang University, Chung Ang University in Seoul. Helen currently resides in Washington, DC area and teaches over 300 musicians at Baltimore Symphony's Orchkids, Levine School (summer camp), and Montgomery County Public Schools.
In her free time, she enjoys taking pictures, composing music, hiking, and traveling around the world. In her free time, she loves to arrange classical music and popular tunes for solo piano, and many of her performances are arranged by herself, often with an improvisatory effect.
Helen Ahn
FLUTIST, PIANIST, AND CONDUCTOR
EDUCATION
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
K-12 Instrumental Music Education
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
Eckstein Scholarship and Fund Recipient & Graduate Teaching Assistantship Award
Summa Cum Laude [Cumulative GPA 4.0/4.0
Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York
Howard Hanson Merit Scholarship Recipient
AWARDS
Winner of Eastman School of Music John Celentano Award for Excellence in Chamber Music 2008
Finalist, Myrna Brown Young Artist Competition, Denton, TX 2007
2nd Prize, Byron Hester National Flute Competition
Winner, South Eastern Michigan Flute Association Young Artist Competition 2004
Winner, The Dixie Classic Festival Competition-VA Beach 2003
Winner, Florida Flute Association High School Young Artist Competition 2003, 2001
Winner, Florida Federation of Music Clubs Competition 2002
3rd prize Winner, Bach Festival Young Artist Competition, Winter Park, Florida 2001
Winner, Florida State Music Teachers Association State Concerto Competition 2000
Winner, the Brevard Young Artist Competition and debut performances with the Space Coast Orchestra
[Chamber Music Awards]
Honorable Mention/3rd Prize, Coleman National Chamber Music Competition, Pasadena, CA 2008
Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition- Notre Dame, IN (A441 Wind Quintet) 2007
Finalist, Plowman National Chamber Music Competition- Columbia, MO 2007
Winner, Eastman School of Music Honors Chamber Competition 2005-2006
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Montgomery County Public Schools- Clarksburg, MD
Levine School of Music- Washington, DC
International School of Music- Bethesda, MD
Chung Ang University- Seoul, Korea
Hanyang University- Seoul, Korea
Asia Pacific International School- Seoul, Korea
The GATE School (YBM)
Northwestern University
CHAMBER MUSIC PERFORMANCES
Clayton Opera House Concert Series October 2007 with Thousand Islands Performing Arts, Clayton, NY (October 2007)
A441 Music For All Presentation Broadcasted Rochester News Channel 13 & 10. (April 2007)
Pulitzer Winner Mario Davidovsky Concert, Kilbourn Hall, NY (April 2007)
Eastman Computer Music Center 25th Anniversary Series, Memorial Art Gallery, NY (March 2007)
Eastman Honors Chamber Concert, Kilbourn Hall, Rochester, NY (December 2006)
Composers Forum, World Premier of Glass Frogs, Rochester, NY (February 2006)
OSSIA Contemporary Group, Kilbourne Hall, Rochester, NY (February 2006)
Music at Noon Series, SUNY Brockport, NY
A441 Performances with Long Island Chamber Orchestra, Long Island, NY (April 2006)
Music For All Outreach Series, Rochester, NY
Eastman Honors Chamber Concert, Kilbourn Hall, Rochester, NY (December 2005)
Washington Square Concert Series, Rochester, NY
ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCES
Bel Cantanti Opera, (2014-)
Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble (2008-2009)
The 1st Annual Frederick Fennell Conducting Masterclass with the EWE (2007)
Eastman Philharmonia Orchestra, Eastman Wind Ensemble, Eastman School Symphony Orchestra
OSSIA New Music Ensemble, Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY (2006)
Las Vegas Music Festival Orchestra, Las Vegas, NV Aspen Music School and Festival Orchestra, CO
Michigan Youth Orchestra, Ann Arbor, MI, associate principal (2003-2004)
Brevard Symphony Youth Orchestra, Florida associate principal
SOLO PERFORMANCES
Peabody Conservatory , Johns Hopkins University (2014)
Solo Flute Recital at Lutkin Hall, Northwestern University (2009)
EISA Outreach Concert at American University, Washington DC (June 2008)
Fund Raising Concert, sponsored by International Student Network, Rochester, NY (Sep 2007)
Eastman Artist Series Concert, sponsored by Downtown Arts Link, Rochester, NY (November 2006)
Music Concert sponsored by COEX, Seoul, Korea
Solo Flute Recital, Eastman Ciminelli Formal Lounge, Rochester, NY (April, December 2005-2008)
Composition Recital, Howard Hanson Hall,
Rochester, NY (November 2005)
Florida Flute Association Competition Winner Recital, Orlando, FL (January 2004)
Guest Soloist at Leo A. Dyce, Sr. Memorial Concert, Melbourne, FL (May, 2001)
Solo debut Concert with Space Coast Pops Orchestra, FL (April 1999)
FESTIVALS & MASTERCLASS
Jill Felber Masterclass, Northwestern University
Las Vegas Music Festival, Las Vegas, Nevada (2006) under tutalage of Renee Siebert, The New York Philharmonic Orchestra
Aspen Music Festival and School, Aspen, Colorado (2005) Full Scholarship Award
Interlochen Music Camp, Interlochen, Michigan (2002)
National Federation of Music Clubs Convention & Festival, Florida (1998-2000)
Jeanne Baxtresser International Flute Master Class at the Carnegie Mellon University, PA (2003)
Clare Southworth Masterclass in Michigan (2003)
Gary Schocker Masterclass at Southeast Michigan Flute Association (2002)
William Bennett and Stephen Preston at Wildacres Flute Retreat, North Carolina (2002)
Florida Flute Association Senior Masterclass Competition with Diane Tarabour (2002)
Donald Peck Masterclass at the University of Central Florida (2002)
Michel Debost at the University of Central Florida (2001)
Peter Lloyd at the University of Toledo, Ohio (2001)
William Bennett at Stetson University, Florida (2001)
Bradley Garner at the Florida Flute Association Masterclass (2000)