Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Helen Bohannon. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Helen, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
My optimism comes from my faith and sharing my love of music by instructing string instrument students and being a church music director. I love seeing students learn to enjoy playing their instrument and the kids at church enjoy singing about their faith. That gives me lots of optimism to not only see the joy of music but to also see happiness and achievement with young kids and music students.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Like most young violinists, I was introduced to the violin in public school. I started playing when I was seven years old and loved it from the very beginning. I grew up in Owensboro, Kentucky where I had a wonderful private instructor and opportunities to perform with our youth orchestra and other chamber ensembles. My parents wanted to help me further in my music education so I attended several local music camps.
When I was 14 years old, I went to the 6 week Interlochen summer music program where I got to meet students from all over the world and play in the World Youth Symphony Orchestra. In high school everybody pretty much knew me as “the violinist“, so when I graduated from Apollo High School in 1978, there is a photo of me playing violin right on the front opening pages of our yearbook.
For college I went to the IU Jacobs School of Music where I studied with James Oliver Buswell IV, Miriam Fried, Greg Fulkerson, and Stanley Ritchie for Baroque Violin. During my junior year I met Tim Bohannon who was also in the IU school of music to become a trumpet performance major.
We both graduated in 1982 with music performance degrees and got married that same year.
For over 40 years of playing as a professional musician, my career has definitely taken a lot of twists and turns. Not long after Tim and I moved from Bloomington to New Albany, Indiana, I auditioned to become an extra musician for The Louisville Orchestra. I was in this position from 1987 – 1994 and was able to perform with the Louisville Orchestra for their 1989 Carnegie Hall tour.
For the span of 20 years, I was concertmaster for three Louisville area community orchestras. These were the Southern Baptist Seminary Orchestra, the Jewish Community Center Orchestra, the Indiana University Southeast Orchestra, plus playing for the Iroquois Amphitheater summer musicals.
In 2023, I completed my 30th year as an adjunct private instructor at IU Southeast.
For the 40 years that I have lived in New Albany, Indiana, I have taught hundreds of young violinists and worked within the New Albany – Floyd County Schools helping their wonderful orchestra directors by coaching and doing sectional work with the students. I have also worked with young musicians as one of the conductors for the Floyd County Youth Symphony. The past 37 years I have played for hundreds of weddings and events with my string ensemble, Classical Choice.
I had not done much work with rock or pop music, but I was honored to get to perform with members of The Orchestra (ELO) and then became a part of a Louisville based band called EL Faux and some shows with Juice Box Heros..
If all of that wasn’t enough, in 1996 I became the Music Director at Grace Lutheran Church. I love working with our amazing staff, the GLC Choir, the kid’s Christmas program and VBS. I have held this position for 28 years and it has been musically and spiritually rewarding.
Through all of this I had two wonderful children, Duncan and Rachel. They are both extremely talented musicians that live in the Nashville, TN area. Both make their living in music as well.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Probably the most impactful thing on my journey into music as a career were my parents. They were extremely supportive and invested a lot time and money to give me the musical experiences that helped to cultivate my talent. Even though playing the violin was something that I truly enjoyed, I was only able to pursue music as my career because of the love, support and dedication and my parents.
For younger musicians hoping to make music their career, this old cliché is absolutely true;
practice, practice, practice!
Practicing to be the best you can be on your instrument will help you gain confidence as a performer and play your best. The more musicians and other people see you perform, the more you will be asked to play and participate for concerts and gigs.
One of the other things I would stress for younger musicians is to keep your word. Make sure you can play the job before you take it and if you agreed to be somewhere at a certain time, then be there on time.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
Sometimes my church job can be a bit overwhelming. Every year I plan and work on what music will be played or sung for Sunday services, Holy Week, Easter and Christmas services. For some services there is much more involved than just thinking of a special song for a Sunday morning.
This past Christmas Eve in 2023, I needed to have special music for three different services in one single day. Each service had different special music for instrumentalists or vocalists. That takes months of preplanning and rehearsing with the choir and musicians. It’s the same thing with presenting special music for the Maundy Thursday service, Good Friday, and three Easter morning services.
Whether it is a solo instrument, church orchestra, vocal soloist or choir, music can calm the mind and lift the spirit. That’s one of the reasons I love what I do at Grace Lutheran Church.
Contact Info:
- Website: classicalchoicestrings.com
glcna.org - Instagram: Helen Bohannon
- Facebook: Classical Choice
