Helen Callus Named Artistic Director

Centrum is pleased to announce violist Helen Callus as the new Artistic Director for the Port Townsend Summer Chamber Music Festival. Callus joins the Festival at a time of growth and change as it evolves into one of the largest gatherings of chamber music students and performers in the Pacific Northwest, said Centrum executive director Thatcher Bailey.

A native of England, Helen Callus is an international recording artist and the first elected female president of the American Viola Society. She currently serves as Associate Professor of Viola at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “Centrum has always had a unique and diverse range of possibilities which is evident from the outstanding array of activities and events it hosts at Fort Worden,” Callus said. “This was one of the main reasons why I decided to join the program.”

“Helen will take Chamber Music at Centrum to a new level of excellence,” said Bailey. “We are excited about making a serious investment in her vision for transforming our program into one of the finest opportunities for the best players and composers in the country, as well as talented amateurs. She is a highly respected artist with the passion and connections to attract extraordinary players, teachers, students and audiences to Fort Worden.”

Callus said that she planned to involve the community at every level while attracting international students of the highest caliber. “I believe that there will be no better way to do that than in Fort Worden’s stunning location,” she said. “We bring world-class artists to the Fort to work intensely with our participants, in a situation that no other festival in the country offers. In the Festival’s week-long format we bring the artist and student closer by an innovative series of masterclass formats, open rehearsals and concerts.”

Callus has toured extensively throughout Europe, Russia, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the United States. She recently toured with the Australian Chamber Orchestra as invited guest principal on their national tour. Both her debut recording, Portrait of the Viola, and her subsequent recordings were met with critical acclaim, with Strings Magazine describing Callus as a “violist of the highest caliber.”

As Artistic Director for the Port Townsend Summer Chamber Music Festival, Helen Callus joins Dirk Powell (Festival of American Fiddles Tunes), Rebecca Brown (The Port Townsend Writers’ Conference), John Clayton (Jazz Port Townsend) and Phil Wiggins (The Port Townsend Country Blues Festival) in guiding and shaping Centrum workshops and performances. Centrum artistic directors, who serve up to five-year terms, select faculty, structure program content, and serve as cultural ambassadors for Centrum out in the world.

Callus replaces Centrum’s outgoing Artistic Director Tom Stone and the Cypress String Quartet, whose five-year term ended this year. "Centrum's association with the Cypress String Quartet was extremely gratifying for us,” said Centrum Associate Director Gregg Miller. “Through a combination of high musical standards, hard work and infectious enthusiasm they helped build a fledgling chamber music workshop into an event attended by participants from across the U.S. and Canada.”