Helen Chang Haertzen joined the Minnesota Orchestra in the fall of 2003 and made her solo debut a few years later performing the Beethoven Triple Concerto. Formerly associate and principal second with the Bamberg Symphony in Germany, Helen toured with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, performed with the Orchestra of St. Luke's and appeared as soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Esplanade, and Staatsorchester Braunschweig. She recorded the Bach Partitas for Cavalli Records which received critical acclaim from the American Records Guide and produced her most recent CD release "American Avenues" for Centaur Records.
As a chamber musician Helen performs with the Isles Ensemble and Lady Slipper. She has been a guest with the Bamberg String Quartet and Walden Chamber Players and has taken part in innovative collaborations with dancer Bill T. Jones at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and with the Boston Ballet Company, performing Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending. As a recitalist she has performed throughout Europe, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Goethe Institute of Boston, The Russian Museum of Art, and Legion of Honor in San Francisco where she played on the Jascha Heifetz 'David' Guarneri del Gesu of 1742.
Helen grew up in Massachusetts and studied with Roman Totenberg. She furthered her studies at the Curtis Institute of Music and Salzburg Mozarteum. Her mentors include Szymon Goldberg, Ruggiero Ricci, and Camilla Wicks.
She is a 2017 recipient of the Artist Initiative Grant through the Minnesota State Arts Board.