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 to work as a soloist or as an ensemble or orchestra member.
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 lead her to the next countries: United States, South-Africa, Mexico, and also across Europe highlighting Denmark, Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, France, Portugal or Spain, world premiering more than 80 pieces (more information here) from composers all over the world and participating in projects and festivals such as: 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 numerous 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 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, which is responsible for bringing 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 centre for the Arts in The Netherlands.