Helen Crayford
Helen Crayford made her concert début as a cornet soloist, aged three, and one year later won Hughie Green's 'Opportunity Knocks', broadcast on Radio Luxembourg. This led to an invitation from Jack Hylton to appear on his TV show, recorded in a Britannia aircraft, mid-air, en-route for New York. At the age of eight Helen won a scholarship from the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, enabling her to become the youngest ever student at the Guildhall School of Music. Her South Bank début was as trumpet soloist in Shostakovich's Piano and Trumpet Concerto at the Royal Festival Hall, when she was still a member of Kent County Youth Orchestra.
After taking a degree at Cambridge University (specialising in performance and composition) and a Postgraduate Diploma from the Royal College of Music, Helen won a French Government Scholarship to study in Paris. This resulted in a fascinating year as one of Nadia Boulanger's last private pupils, studying the piano repertoire and attending musical history and analysis classes. Her lecture, The Nadia Boulanger Experience, provides a personal insight into the composer's life.
On returning to London, Helen was invited to join the first all-female brass quintet, which soon won many prizes. Gallina Brass gave many concerts throughout Britain and Europe, appearing in the Park Lane Group's 20th Century Series in London's Purcell Room and as featured soloists at the Royal Albert Hall. They were engaged by the Greater London Council to sound the fanfares that opened the newly restored Covent Garden Piazza in 1978!
As soon as Helen left Gallina Brass to devote more time to the keyboard, she was in demand as a coach with major European opera companies, including the Royal Opera House, English National Opera, Glyndebourne, Aldeburgh and Garsington festivals and Swedish Folk Opera. This involved working closely with conductors such as Sir Georg Solti, Elgar Howarth and John Eliot Gardiner. As assistant conductor, Helen took part in the premieres of many new Brish operas, most notably Mark Anthony Turnage's 'Greek' for the Munich Biennale, ENO and BBCTV.
In a lighter vein, Helen worked with Henry Lewis and Simon Callow on their award-winning London production of 'Carmen Jones'. She was closely involved with both operas written by former 'Police' drummer, Stewart Copeland (namely 'Horse Opera' for Channel 4 TV and 'The Cask of Amontillado' performed in Barbados).
Helen has also remained active on the concert platform, appearing with ensembles such as Matrix, Capricorn, the Almeida Ensemble and the Britten Sinfonia. In 1994 she was an official accompanist for BBC TV's 'Young Musician of the Year' Competition and the associated masterclasses given by Håken Hardenberger and Evelyn Glennie. She is now increasingly sought-after by singers and instrumentalists as a recital partner, especially in contemporary repertoire. Most notably, she and her sister have formed the Crayford Duo.
In 1986, Helen's desire to return to the footlights inspired her to devise a solo show, RAGS TO RICHES, which traces the history of Ragtime and Jazz. Since its debut in Italy, RAGS TO RICHES has been met with critical acclaim from the Edinburgh Jazz Festival to New York City. In April 1996, London's Purcell Room was sold out for the show's South Bank début. RAGS TO RICHES has been frequently heard on BBC Radio and four recordings have been released on the Maxsound label. Future plans include a solo CD recording, chamber music recitals in Europe and the USA, and performances of the one-woman shows which comprise RAGS TO RICHES
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Diary Highlights | Details of Helen's Nadia Boulanger Lecture
The Crayford Duo | Marcia Crayford's biography | Rags To Riches