I love Ella, Karen Carpenter, Eva Cassidy, Tierney Sutton, Nancy Wilson, Aretha Franklin, Barbara Streisand, Sarah Vaughn, Sammy Davis-Junior, Harry Connick Jr, Tony Benne and Mel Torme
Sounds Like
Karen Carpenter! At least, that's what 'they' say!!
Helen currently makes her home in Northeast Ohio, where she regularly performs at celebrated area-establishments such as Nighttown in Cleveland Heights (www.nighttowncleveland.com)
Highlights of the last several years include:
November 2003: Helen's debut performance with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra at Playhouse Square Center's Allen Theatre.
September 2005: Helen wrote, produced and starred in Fever - a salute to legendary female vocalists of the past 50 years including Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughn, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler and more. Fever played to sell-out crowd, and led Helen to write, produce and direct four new shows in 2006: Swingin' on Broadway, Movie Magic, Fever II and Jingle Bell Swing.
December 2006: Helen appeared in the film Christmas at Maxwells, and co-wrote and sang two songs on the film's sound track. The film was produced by Cleveland-based Laufer Film Productions.
December 2006: The Playhouse Square Center premiere of Jingle Bell Swing received fervent audience reception. The show returns to PSC in late 2007.
One Dream
In September 2006, Helen made her first recording with The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra and her quartet. The CD, entitled One Dream is an eclectic compilation of Broadway hits: Something's Comin' / Somewhere (West Side Story) and The Trolley Song (Meet Me in St Louis); classic pop tunes: Walkin' After Midnight and This Could Be The Start of Something Big; and compositions co-written by Helen: One Dream is Better than None. It also features Helen's version of Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart, arranged by Nelson Riddle. Helen received personal permission from Riddle's daughter, to use the original arrangement of Zing! on her recording. Besides Judy Garland, Helen is the only other person to have recorded this arrangement.
No time to slow down in 2007.
Helen performed at the Packard Music Hall with Steinway artist Joe Augustine in March. April saw her Severance Hall debut with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra and the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra in a concert entitled Side by Side. Helen will also made her Columbus, Ohio performance debut: first with her quartet on July 11th and then with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra during their summer series entitled JazZoo! Held at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, a spectacular outdoor venue perched at the edge of the Scioto River.
On July 28th Helen made her Blossom Music Center Debut with the Blossom Festival Orchestra celebrating the music of Gershwin.
November 2nd saw a performance at The Kent Stage headlining with the Kent State University Jazz Band; November 10th Helen joined the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra at Akron's Civic Theatre, and the hugely popular Christmas show, Jingle Bell Swing will be reprised at Playhouse Square Center on December 16th and at the Akron Civic Theater on Friday December 21st.
For more information please visit www.helenwelch.com
