Helena
Sousa Estévez
Accordion
Interested in all music styles and specialized in the contemporary classical music world, Helena Sousa Estévez, accordionist, collaborates very actively with composers, working as a soloist or as a member of ensembles and orchestras.
Currently based in Rotterdam, Helena has performed with ensembles or orchestras such as the Real Filharmonía de Galicia, Insomnio Ensemble, Ensemble Linea, Vertixe Sonora or DoelenEnsemble. She is also co-founder and member of Inner Duo (https://innerduo.com/) since 2020.
These kind of collaborations led her to perform in countries such us: United States, South Africa, Mexico, and also throughout Europe highlighting Denmark, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, France, Portugal and Spain. She has premiered more than 80 pieces (more information here) by composers from around the world and participating in numerous projects and festivals, including: Akkordeonale 2025, Féstival Présences 2025, Hillegonda Cross-Over Festival 2024, Festival Ensemble(s) 2024, Académie Voix Nouvelles 2024, World New Music Days 2023, Festival Internacional de Música Nueva de Querétaro 2023, Festival Internacional de Música de Canarias – Festival Contemporáneo 2023, North Sea Round Town 2023, Dutch International Tango Week 2022, Codarts Composers Festival 2022, Muze van Zuid 2022, Xornadas de Música Contemporánea 2021, Festival Musica - festival international de musiques d'aujourd'hui 2021, Arsmondo Festival 2019, Thy Chamber Music Festival 2019 or IMPULS Festival – Festival für Neue Musik 2019, among many others.
In 2015 Helena obtained her Bachelor degree in Music at Musikene – Higher Music School of the Basque Country (San Sebastián, Spain), with professor Iñaki Alberdi. In 2017 she finished her Master of Music at HEAR- Haute École des Arts du Rhin (Strasbourg, France) with professor Pascal Contet.
Since the beginning of her career, Helena has participated in multiple national and international competitions, among them: the Trophée Mondial de l'Accordéon in France (2005), Serbia (2006), Bosnia and Herzegovina (2007), Portugal (2009) and Spain (2010); Premio Internazionale de la Fisarmonica (Castelfidardo, Italy, 2007, 2008 and 2010); Torneo Internazionale di Musica (Verona, Italy, 2010 and Paris, France, 2012); Arrasate Hiria International Accordion Competition (Arrasate, Spain, 2014) or Juventudes Musicales (Torroella de Montgrí, 2014 and Tui, Spain, 2016).
She has also attended several masterclasses with musicians such as Juan Carlos Cárcamo, Pedro Pascual, Aníbal Freire, Alexey Artemyev, Anne Landa, Oleg Sharov, Vyacheslav Semionov, Víctor Prieto, Jesús Torres, José María Sánchez-Verdú, Marco García de Paz, Veli Kujala, Geir Draugsvoll, Iñaki Alberdi or Wim Warman, among others.
Besides working as a performer, Helena is also active in other fields related to music: she gives music lessons as a private music teacher as well as being part of School of Music Rotterdam since 2018; since 2022 she has been part of the Muziek in Huis foundation with Inner Duo, bringing live music to nursing homes across The Netherlands, and since2024 she is the conductor of the accordion ensemble Grandioso con Anima in The Hague (http://grandiosoconanima.nl/).
Helena is as well a current member of SKVR - Stichting Kunstzinnige Vorming Rotterdam, one of the largest art education centers in the Netherlands.