ARTIST PROFILE

Helen Callus and Phillip Bush

BIOGRAPHY

HELEN CALLUS, described by The Seattle Times as "a player with impeccable sensibilities and a beautiful sound, infinitely malleable into all kinds of musical subtleties," serves as Associate Professor of Viola at UC Santa Barbara, and is the President of the American Viola Society, the first women elected to hold that title.

As a recitalist, chamber music collaborator and concerto soloist, Ms. Callus has delighted audiences in major cities around the world including those of Russia, Europe, New Zealand, Australia and Canada. Her extensive performances in the US have included appearances in New York, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Baltimore. In 2003, whilst a guest at Brigham Young University for the Primrose Memorial Recital, Ms. Callus performed with the world renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir in Salt Lake City to an audience of 4,000 and broadcast to over 2,000 television stations around the world. Ms. Callus has performed at every major international viola congress since 2001, including the New Zealand, Seattle (of which she was the host-chair), Kronberg in Germany and Minnesota congresses.

A native of England, Ms. Callus graduated from the Peabody Conservatory in Maryland where she was the teaching assistant to Paul Coletti. Prior to that she studied at The Royal Academy of Music in London with Ian Jewel where she was most recently bestowed an Honorary ARAM (Associate of the RAM) for her achievements in the field.

PHILIP BUSH maintains a versatile career, which takes him to many parts of the globe. Since his New York recital debut at the Metropolitan Museum in 1984, he has performed as a solo recitalist in many cities worldwide. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2001 with the London Sinfonietta, and has appeared as a soloist with the Houston Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, and Osaka Century Orchestra, among others. Mr. Bush is also an avid chamber musician, appearing frequently with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and New York's Bargemusic series as well as many chamber music festivals throughout the world. He has toured Japan 17 times, performing in over 250 concerts, and recorded five best-selling CDs and two videos with the innovative piano quartet "Typhoon." All five releases reached the top of the Japanese classical charts. He is a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory where he studied with Leon Fleisher.