Dr. Helena Katharine Wiley von Rueden

D.M.A., University of California, Santa Barbara, 2013
M.M., University of California, Santa Barbara, 2011
B.A., Harvard University, 2001

Dr. Helena von Rueden started teaching at Hampden-Sydney in 2014. She directs the Hampden-Sydney Chorus, teaches piano, theory, music history, conducting, and Music as Social Behavior. A mezzo-soprano, her solo performance most often involves oratorio: recent engagements with the Central Virginia Masterworks Chorale include Handel's Messiah and Mozart's Requiem. She is the founder/director of a professional vocal octet, The Piedmont Singers of Central Virginia, and has performed with this ensemble around the State. Dr. von Rueden's research interests include group singing as a public health tool to increase social cohesion and wellbeing. She is the curator and creator of the Expanding Choral Practice Database which provides resources to choral directors to expand training and knowledge of choral practices outside the traditional western choral canon. She has presented at a the National Collegiate Choral Organization's national conference, and the American Choral Director’s Association national conference. Dr. von Rueden is a past Assistant Director of the Institute of Composer Diversity and National Board member of the National Collegiate Choral Organization. At Hampden-Sydney, Dr. von Rueden directs the Hampden-Sydney Music Series, manages the Private Music Lesson Program, and Chairs the Fine Arts Department. She serves as faculty advisor to the Acousticals and the Unity Alliance. Her academic degrees include a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting, a Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Harvard University. Visit her website at www.helenavonrueden.com.

Elliott Professorship
The Cabell Award

Expanding Choral Practice Database, creator/curator

Select Performances

At War with Ourselves by Michael Abels, with Kronos Quartet, Modlin Series, University of Richmond, Va, 2023, alto guest artist with Tonality

St. John’s Passion, by Johann Sebastian Bach, with Central Virginia Masterworks Chorale, 2024, alto soloist

B Minor Mass, by Johann Sebastian Bach, with Schola Cantorum of the Richmond Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, 2022, alto soloist

Messiah, by Georg Frederic Handel, with Petersburg Symphony, 2024, and Winston-Salem Symphony, 2015, alto soloist

Journey to Now, with The Piedmont Singers of Central Virginia in central Va, 2023, founder/director/alto

Publications and Presentations

Bennington, Elaine, Helena von Rueden, and Wanda Vasquez Garcia. "Working toward Balanced Programming with Tools from the Institute for Composer Diversity Choral Works Database." The Choral Journal; 63, no. 7 (Mar/Apr 2023): 55-59

“Access and Belonging in Adult Choirs as a Societal Benefit,” American Choral Directors Association, Southern Division, accepted for presentation March 2026

“Pedagogical and research tools for diversifying choral repertoire study and performance from the Institute of Composer Diversity,” National Collegiate Choral Organization National Conference, June 2022

Examining group singing as a means for improving mental health and social cohesion through inclusive program models. Researching societal effects of group singing as a public health tool to reduce societal divisions as well as improve well-being.

Creation of a user-friendly interface for the Expanding Choral Practice Database, an online searchable database of resources for choral practitioners to increase their training and knowledge of choral practices outside of the traditional western choral canon. Student assistants are needed to create the interface and to help collect and annotate resources. 

Further developing my research on the use of metaphor as a communication tool by leaders of choral ensembles in the rehearsal setting.

Hampden-Sydney College Chorus (Theory and Practice of Choral Music)
Fundamentals of Music Theory
Piano I/II
Introduction to Classical Music
Music as Social Behavior
Music and Social Change
Choral Conducting