‘It’s not about you; it’s about the music’: Helena Rathbone’s life lessons

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It’s not a coincidence that chamber music became such an important part of my musical career – I think it’s one of the most important parts of a musician’s life. From the age of nine I attended the Pro Corda chamber music camps, where I got to know the repertoire, learnt how to listen and started to understand the role of selflessness in chamber music. I knew from a very early age that I wanted to play chamber music, and sometimes I realise I never really learnt music from the orchestral repertoire. Maybe one day I can sit down and learn all the big symphony parts!

This love for chamber music was solidified by David Takeno, with whom I studied at the Guildhall School in London. On weekends he would invite us to his house to play chamber music. I remember his wife being a fantastic cook and making us dinner. We would play through the night and take the first Tube home! My parents were also singers, so growing up I was surrounded by music and was always in and out of rehearsals. The best advice I could give a musician would be to sing and to play chamber music!…