Helena Saelman

 

Music and music making was the foundation of our family. My father Gustav was a violist with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and also played in string quartets. My mother Therese gave piano lessons and accompanied several singers for many years. My sister plays the clarinet and violin. I started singing when I was 1 year old. My mother played a lot of piano and as a child you automatically parrot along. My parents told me that, rocking my rocking horse, I sang Bach with the pacardic third. I also had piano, violin and guitar lessons. During puberty I was mainly involved with pop music and made my own songs, which I accompanied on piano or guitar. In guitar lessons I learned to read jazz schemes. Interest in classical singing only developed at a later age and I joined a women’s choir and started taking singing lessons on the advice of the conductor. I took singing lessons with Sonja van Lier, Norien Siemons and Hannah Ybeles Smit. Masterclasses with Marjolein Koetsier and attended by Cora Canne Meijer and Margreet Honig.

Education as a singing teacher was at the Schumann Academy. To learn to experience the breath consciously, I did breathing therapy based on the Ilse Mittendorff method. In my teaching practice in Soest I give singing lessons individually and to groups. These are combined with breathing technique, meditation exercises and singing technique based on various recognized methods.