My name is Helena Dixon, I play the cello and I study at Hochstein with Kathy Kemp.

So how did you end up choosing the cello?

I heard there was a bit of a process of elimination there.

Yeah so, I didn't want to play the violin because it was really loud.

And it was really high up and I was like, I don't know, like the intonation.

And I didn't want to play bass because they're tuned in fourths and that's like really confusing.

When I heard the cello, it was just such a beautiful, rich sound and I absolutely loved it.

It can go low and it can go high, and it's a versatile instrument.

I feel like some music, it's really hard as a musician to put your own spin on it because it's already there, it's already written on the page.

I love Bach because the way he writes, you can add so much to it.

It's like an etude where you add your own personality, you add your own emotion towards the piece.

Playing cello helps me express myself without using my voice, without using my actions.

I use running as an outlet to like, get all my thoughts out of my head.

And I think cello, like, helps me think through them.

You are still juggling a lot too, with all these extracurricular activities.

You've got your track, you've got the Black Student Union.

Are you class president?

Yeah.

So many responsibilities and how does cello fit into all of that for you?

It can be hard sometimes.

I was listening to a podcast and it was saying how you can only manage like, four of your seven things going on at once.

And I find that to be true.

I think if you find time and you really love what you do, it’s easy to make time to practice and make time for everything that you love to do.

That's one of those old musician adages: the hardest thing about practicing is opening the case.

Yes.

Yeah, I agree, I agree with that.

I think music as a whole is an amazing way to learn, to express yourself, to unwind and to build happiness.

So, yeah, I'm really grateful to be part of the community.