About

I’m Helen Hooker, a recorder player, conductor and teacher, based in the UK.

Since training at Trinity College of Music I’ve spent my working life performing the music I adore and helping other recorder players to improve their playing. I love nothing better than engaging with an audience, be it performing to a packed crowd in a Cathedral or working with orchestras and ensembles.

Recorder player

As a performer I’ve given concerts in venues as varied as the National Portrait Gallery, churches and cathedrals and the National Arboretum, both as a soloist and with The Parnassian Ensemble.

I have a long-standing working relationship with the composer Steve Marshall and have been honoured to premiere three of his recorder concertos, as well as many smaller scale works. Steve’s second Concerto has pride of place on my solo CD, Helen and Friends.

Other recording projects have included A Noble Entertainment, a CD of music from Queen Anne’s London with The Parnassian Ensemble and Bravo Bonsor!, which celebrates the life and music of Brian Bonsor. All three of my CDs are available via my online shop - do pop by and have a browse!

Conductor

I can often be found conducting recorder ensembles and orchestras. I love the challenge of finding the best in amateur musicians, coaxing out polished performances in a persuasive, yet good-humoured way.

I’ve been Musical Director of the Thames Valley Recorder Orchestra, an ensemble of around 50 players based in the south of England, since 2007. One of my other orchestral passions is exploring the possibilities of low recorders, resulting in the formation of the Mellow Tones Recorder Orchestra, the UK’s first eight-foot recorder band. Featuring only the larger sizes of recorder, the tone of this ensemble is truly gorgeous – mellow by name, mellow by nature! In February 2023 I was appointed Musical Director of the Hampshire Recorder Sinfonia. I have a connection with the Sinfonia which dates back to 1994 I’m excited to have joined them as MD and look forward to many years of musical adventures together!

Educator

One of my musical passions is helping other musicians to grow their playing. I enjoy teaching one-to-one, but my happiest place is working with recorder ensembles, developing their music making and technical skills. I teach on many recorder courses, including The Recorder Summer School, West Dean College and Cannington Court.

The Covid-19 pandemic sparked a need among recorder players for creative ways to keep playing when we couldn’t meet face to face. This inspired my long-running Recorder Consort Video project, offering music, multitrack videos and musical hints and tips. These videos have been downloaded thousands of times by recorder players around the globe and the project continues to this day.

Are you a recorder player hoping to improve your ensemble skills? You can watch and play along with nearly 200 of my consort videos here.

I’ve now broadened the scope of my online resources, creating the Score Lines Blog where I share advice and inspiration every two weeks. Here I talk about repertoire, technique, music history and much more. You can join me on my journey into the blogosphere and learn more about the recorder and its music here.

I’m also to be found roaming the UK, working with groups from the Society of Recorder Players (SRP). My relationship with the SRP stretches back some three decades, during which time I’ve conducted all but two of the Society’s fifty branches. In April 2022 I was deeply honoured to be elected a Vice President of the Society for my educational work through the pandemic.

Writing and arranging

My experience working with amateur musicians showed me there was a need for user friendly resources to help with technique building. This inspired my book Recorder Technique: A guide to the basics and beyond, which has sold thousands of copies in eBook and paperback formats. I’m also a prolific arranger of music for recorders and dozens of my musical editions are available from Peacock Press. To learn more about my book and arrangements, do take a look at my publications page.

Through the course of my Recorder Consort Videos project I have also published a selection of electronic PDF music editions which are available in my online shop.

Beyond music

When I’m not playing, conducting or teaching music you’ll usually find me indulging in my other passion – photography. Sometimes these two parts of my life even overlap, as photographer for some of my musical activities. My photography can be found here.