Meet the Team
Helen Kuby
Hello! My name is Helen and I am a co-founder of Sounds Confident, as well as a professional French horn player.
I completed a Performance Science MSc at the Royal College of Music with a focus on performance wellbeing pedagogy for musicians under 18. Graduating with a disinction, I also received the RCM Accelerate Award which supported the start up of Sounds Confident.
Alongside Sounds Confident, I work in the Junior Department at the Royal Academy of Music where I teach horn and musician wellbeing - specialising in performance psychology. Working as both a 1:1 performance coach and running catered group workshops to classes across all faculties.
My performance career on the French horn encompasses a wide genre of music including classical, pop, jazz and musical theatre.
When not music-ing, you can find me dog sitting or in a very cold lake having a swim!
Judith Kleinman
After having trained to be an Alexander teacher I have been teaching at the Royal College of music and the junior Royal Academy for the last thirty years, working with young musicians on how to find their potential in practice and performance.
I originally trained as a musician and went to the Guildhall school of music. This is where I came across the approach to being a musician that the most important thing we need to learn is, how to compose ourselves. How to be curious to find our calm and confidence, and our best co-ordination. This approach inclusive of creativity towards finding our confident artist is paramount for the health and wellbeing of all musicians. I went on to play with many of the major London Symphony and Chamber Orchestras as well having jobs in the Opera houses and having a solo career.
I have co written ‘The Alexander Technique for Musicians’ with Peter Buckoke and recently published ‘Finding Quiet Strength’ a guide to finding emotional intelligence and embodied awareness. I have two sons, a dog called Vesper and a tortoise called Weedy and live in London with my husband.
Julia Duschenes
I heard about the Alexander Technique when I was quite a young child and it seemed like a good idea, although I had no access to lessons at that time.
After a music degree, working in admin for Welsh National Opera and for Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers, I lived in other parts of the world for five years and only on return to England decided it was time to train as an Alexander Teacher. I have now been teaching for over 20 years giving lessons to adults and children of all ages both privately and at County Youth Music level in Hertfordshire as well as at JRAM. The Technique helps me to play viola without experiencing the aches I did as a teenager, and I like to pass that on.
If not teaching, I’m usually to be found playing chamber music with friends several times a week or sitting quietly under my cat, Daisy, whilst reading.