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Helen Z. Altenbach
Winner of the 2014 Global Music Awards Silver Medal for their album Grieg & Prokofiev*, Helen Z. Altenbach (she/they/them) joined the LA Opera Orchestra in 2010. Born to a musical family in China, Helen (neé Xiaodan Zheng ) is one of eight professional cellists on their paternal side. Helen studied piano and cello in Russia before immigrating to New York City with their family in 1998. As Xiaodan, she graduated from The Juilliard School Pre-College Division and LaGuardia High School of Music & Arts and Performing Arts. Xiaodan holds a Bachelor of Music degree from USC Thornton School of Music. Helen attended the Itzhak Perlman Music Program, the Perlman Chamber Music Program, Tanglewood Music Center, Verbier Music Festival (Switzerland), Pacific Music Festival (Japan), Pinchas Zukerman’s Young Artists Program at the National Arts Centre (Canada), Musicorda, and Bowdoin Music Festival. Helen’s cello teachers include Ron Leonard (USC), André Emelianoff (Juilliard), Alexei Seleznev (Moscow State Pre-Conservatory), and her father James Zheng.
Helen’s awards include the Juilliard Honor Strings Competition, Juilliard Concerto Competition, the ASCAP Foundation Ira Gershwin award, Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society Young Artists Award, first prize at the Great Neck Young Artist Competition in both Solo and Chamber Music categories, and second prize at Corpus Christi Young Artists Competition. While at USC, Helen was a scholarship recipient of the Richard and Mika Hadar Foundation, the Getty Foundation. Helen was a recipient of a fine cello on loan from the Colburn Foundation.
Prior to joining the LA Opera, Helen held a tenured Principal Cello position with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. Other past tenured posts include the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Long Beach Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, New West Symphony, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, and the LA Virtuosi Orchestra. Helen has been an active freelance musician for the motion picture recording industry since 2011 and can be heard on major theatrical releases and TV series across multiple streaming platforms.
During the COVID-19 global pandemic, Helen earned a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy and is now a licensed marriage and family therapist with her own private practice in Pasadena. Helen focuses on multicultural couple/family dynamics and professional burnout within the artistic and creative community (therapywithhelen.com). Helen is also a founder of Los AnCellos, a cello ensemble collective established in 2023, offering healing sound bath experiences in communities celebrating diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
*Grieg & Prokofiev (2013) with Xiao-Dan Zheng, cello, and Clara Yang, piano. Albany Records. TROY1485
Winner of the 2014 Global Music Awards Silver Medal for their album Grieg & Prokofiev*, Helen Z. Altenbach (she/they/them) joined the LA Opera Orchestra in 2010. Born to a musical family in China, Helen (neé Xiaodan Zheng ) is one of eight professional cellists on their paternal side. Helen studied piano and cello in Russia before immigrating to New York City with their family in 1998. As Xiaodan, she graduated from The Juilliard School Pre-College Division and LaGuardia High School of Music & Arts and Performing Arts. Xiaodan holds a Bachelor of Music degree from USC Thornton School of Music. Helen attended the Itzhak Perlman Music Program, the Perlman Chamber Music Program, Tanglewood Music Center, Verbier Music Festival (Switzerland), Pacific Music Festival (Japan), Pinchas Zukerman’s Young Artists Program at the National Arts Centre (Canada), Musicorda, and Bowdoin Music Festival. Helen’s cello teachers include Ron Leonard (USC), André Emelianoff (Juilliard), Alexei Seleznev (Moscow State Pre-Conservatory), and her father James Zheng.
Helen’s awards include the Juilliard Honor Strings Competition, Juilliard Concerto Competition, the ASCAP Foundation Ira Gershwin award, Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society Young Artists Award, first prize at the Great Neck Young Artist Competition in both Solo and Chamber Music categories, and second prize at Corpus Christi Young Artists Competition. While at USC, Helen was a scholarship recipient of the Richard and Mika Hadar Foundation, the Getty Foundation. Helen was a recipient of a fine cello on loan from the Colburn Foundation.
Prior to joining the LA Opera, Helen held a tenured Principal Cello position with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. Other past tenured posts include the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Long Beach Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, New West Symphony, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, and the LA Virtuosi Orchestra. Helen has been an active freelance musician for the motion picture recording industry since 2011 and can be heard on major theatrical releases and TV series across multiple streaming platforms.
During the COVID-19 global pandemic, Helen earned a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy and is now a licensed marriage and family therapist with her own private practice in Pasadena. Helen focuses on multicultural couple/family dynamics and professional burnout within the artistic and creative community (therapywithhelen.com). Helen is also a founder of Los AnCellos, a cello ensemble collective established in 2023, offering healing sound bath experiences in communities celebrating diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
*Grieg & Prokofiev (2013) with Xiao-Dan Zheng, cello, and Clara Yang, piano. Albany Records. TROY1485