Originally from Riga, Latvia, Dr. Helena Michelson attended San Francisco Conservatory Pre-College program where she studied piano with Mack McCray. She has also participated in master classes with Richard Goode and Awadagin Pratt. She received her Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Music from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed a doctorate (Ph.D.) in Music Composition and Theory from the University of California, Davis.
Dr. Michelson is a Certified Teacher of The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) Certificate Program.
As a composer, she has been a fellow at numerous festivals including the Composers Conference, June in Buffalo, Domaine Forget, Source Song Festival, Composer-Librettist Studio program by the Alliance of New Music-Theater, and many others. She is a distinguished member of the judging panel for The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts.
Dr. Michelson has years of experience teaching piano students of all ages ranging from beginner to advanced intermediate. She also has extensive experience teaching music appreciation and has taught a course on American musicals. Her approach to teaching is reflective of her many activities and wide-ranging musical interests.