About Helen
I’m Helen — a composer, performer, improviser and educator who believes everyone has a creative voice worth hearing. Whether I’m on stage, in a lecture hall or leading a community workshop, my role is to help people find it.
I’m Senior Lecturer in Music Production and the Creative Industries at Teesside University, and I hold a PhD in Composition from University of York. My research explores how we create the conditions in which people feel genuinely safe enough to make something extraordinary. At the centre of that work is a simple belief: relationships underpin everything. When trust and safety come first, creativity follows naturally.
That research is continuing to evolve through new publications, the development of an inclusive framework for creative practice, and a book currently in progress.
As a performer, I specialise in saxophone improvisation — though I’d argue we all improvise every day: in conversations, decisions and the unexpected moments we navigate without a script. Music has simply taught me to trust that instinct more consciously.
I also experience synaesthesia, where sound and colour are deeply connected, and this shapes my compositional work in ways I’m still discovering. My compositions appear in the ABRSM, Trinity, LCME and Rockschool syllabi, and I publish with Clifton Edition. I am also contributing author of Instrumental Music Education (Bloomsbury, 2025).
Alongside this work, I’m a passionate music examiner, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, recipient of the York Learning and Teaching Award, and Strategy Board Member of Barnsley Music Hub. I am also Director of Friends of the Future CIC and work as a choir accompanist for groups connected to the internationally renowned Barnsley Youth Choir.
The Practice Room
Music teachers and community musicians give so much to the people they support. But in a profession where supervision is rarely built in, and where relationships can be deep, demanding and emotionally complex, it is easy to feel isolated.
The Practice Room is my response to that.
These small online group sessions bring music teachers and community musicians together for reflection, professional development and genuine peer support — led by an experienced practitioner, researcher and educator who understands the realities of this work.
It’s a space to think, reflect and grow. Because one of the most valuable things we can do for the people we support is continue investing in ourselves.
Find out more in the Tuition section.
Enhance your teaching skills with individual or small group tuition and supervision, designed specifically for music teachers and community musicians. Grounded in PhD research, a person-centered approach ensures that each session is tailored to meet your unique needs and goals.
New Publication
I’m pleased to have contributed three chapters to Instrumental Music Education (Bloomsbury), a new book exploring approaches to teaching, learning and practice in instrumental music education. Alongside the book, we have shared this work through workshops and talks with music hubs and conservatoires internationally, including the Royal Danish Academy and UCL. I look forward to seeing how the ideas continue to be developed and applied across the sector.
Music Books
These studies have been trusted and utilised by major examination boards since their release. Each piece is carefully crafted to meet high educational standards, ensuring students receive the best possible guidance in their musical journey. Explore the collection here
The Forgotten Forest, ABRSM piano Grade 1 list B option - Primo Part
January 2023 - June 2024
A community Folk Opera written in collaboration with Golthorpe Primary School, Gooseacre Primary School, Barugh Green Primary School and Greenacre Special School.
Translating Colour to sound and Vice Versa - A community project