Stephanie Helleckson
Vice President (Paonia, 2022)
Stephanie Helleckson has been involved with the VSA for almost 20 years. She has periodically played in the orchestra as a violinist since 2006 and sung with the chorus under the direction of Jan Tuin. She now teaches music locally and joined the VSA Board of Directors in 2022 to assist with the orchestral conductor transition and support the continued success of the VSA. “My reasons are a bit selfish. I want to continue playing in the orchestra with my father and brother for many years to come!”
Stephanie took her first violin lesson at age 5 and has loved music ever since. Former VSA concertmaster Lu Vorys was her first official teacher, and Stephanie has been singing and playing with her family (Brent, Karen, and Jacob Helleckson) in concerts around the area since 1997.
In 1998, Stephanie joined what would become the Valley Youth Orchestra, playing chamber music in a dirt-floor cabin in Paonia. She consistently performed with the VYO and VSA until graduating from high school in 2010, after which she obtained bachelor's degrees in music and anthropology at the University of Colorado Boulder. She also holds a masters in arts administration from Florida State University, where she studied under internationally recognized conductor André Thomas and Met Opera Soprano Marcy Stonikas.
In the course of her adventures, Stephanie founded the North Fork Community Choir, published original research on the acoustics of kivas at Mesa Verde National Park, worked at a humane society on Maui, and spent a summer working at the Sitka Music Festival in Alaska. She has served on the boards of three music organizations, created four organizations, and worked in over half a dozen nonprofits in positions ranging from intern to executive director.
Her most recent projects include:
● Teaching 20+ voice, violin, and piano students
● Directing the North Fork Community Choir
● Co-teaching the strings program at the North Fork School of Integrated Studies
● Performing in the VSA with her dad and brother
● Managing her own writing and editing business
When not working or making music with family, Stephanie can be found kayaking down the Gunnison, cooking with new spices, or brushing up on her Hawaiian. Please find her after a concert and say hello!