Helen Cawthorne

She was first invited to teach at the Junior Academy shortly after leaving the Royal Academy of Music, and she is pleased to have been able to return recently as a piano teacher and chamber ensemble coach. Helen’s work in music education has also included piano and chamber music teaching in the junior department of Trinity Laban, for a significant number of years she was Head of Keyboard at Bedales School in Hampshire, and since 1999 she has been a part-time Lecturer in Performance at the University of Southampton, where she works with both undergraduate and postgraduate students of piano. She is also an ABRSM examiner, travelling worldwide as a member of the diploma panel and a presenter of teachers’ seminars.

Helen Cawthorne’s early work as a freelance accompanist in London embraced regular engagements with all of the conservatoires and many of the leading orchestras and choruses. As a masterclass accompanist she worked with distinguished performers including Gyorgy Pauk and Michala Petri. As a chamber musician and accompanist Helen has performed at leading concert venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room and QEH, and she will next appear at the newly re-opened Purcell Room in May 2018. A long-standing working partnership with her husband, baritone John Barker, has included BBC broadcasts, recordings and recitals throughout the UK.