Karen Helseth is proud to serve on the faculty of TYSA as conductor of TASO. She is currently the orchestra director at Einstein Middle School and Shorewood High School in the Shoreline School District, a position she has held since 2018. Prior to that, Ms. Helseth taught orchestra and other music classes in the Edmonds School District for seventeen years, and in the Federal Way School District for four years. Ms. Helseth has worked with the Cascade Youth Symphony Orchestra as conductor of Sinfonette Orchestra, and cello coach for Junior and Youth Symphony Orchestras.
Outside of the classroom, Ms. Helseth works on instruments, rehairs bows, and records part demonstration videos for intermediate string orchestra repertoire, which can be found on her eponymous YouTube channel. She served on the executive board of the Washington Music Educators Association for twelve nonconsecutive years, including as President during the Covid-19 pandemic. Passionate about scholarship and professional development, Ms. Helseth regularly attends conferences and workshops related to strings education, performance, and lutherie; she has also received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities to attend music history institutes in Austria, Germany, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh. She can be found playing cello or bass with community orchestras, and attending fiddle camps, festivals and jam sessions. Ms. Helseth believes that all students deserve access to a high quality and well-rounded music education, and that youth symphony programs are a vital part of the music education community, providing motivated young musicians an opportunity to experience a high level of rigor and explore their passion for music amongst like-minded peers, while developing skills to serve as a leader in their school music programs.