Helen Exner

Helen Exner is a vocalist, composer, and pianist. In 2008 she was nominated for a WAMI (Wisconsin Area Music Industry) award for best contemporary jazz artist. She released her second CD, “Sunrise,” in November 2008, a collaboration with producer Marc Golde that dug deeper with an even wider range of themes and musical arrangements. “Sunrise” features some of Wisconsin's finest musicians, including Matt Turner (cello), Tom Theabo (guitar), Byron Trammell (guitar), Patrice Michaels (vocals), and Dorothy Zerbe (vocals).

In March 2009, Helen was featured on Garrison Keillor's long-running public radio show “A Prairie Home Companion,” performing the first track from her new album, “Sky Goddess.” Click here to hear a performance. She particularly enjoyed inviting Mr. Keillor to attend church at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church the next day, to which he replied, “Were you asking for a warning?”

She lives in Southeast Florida where she performs and teaches.

Helen's songwriting career began as a third-grader when she wrote her very first song. At the time she didn't realize that the joy of writing one short song would evolve into a lifelong passion for writing and performing her own music. She wrote a series of piano pieces in middle and high school, thanks to the prompting of an observant teacher who encouraged her to compete in state songwriting contests. To Helen's surprise, she began winning awards, a turn of events that prompted her to get more ambitious in her writing. In 1998, the Festival Choir of Madison premiered her choral work "Tiller of the Soil," commissioned in honor of Wisconsin's sesquicentennial (125th) celebration.

As a music major at Lawrence University, Helen studied classical piano and composition, performing many genres of music (including original works) as a soloist, ensemble player, and accompanist. Meanwhile she also sang with and arranged songs for the university Jazz Singers, performing with jazz singer Kevin Mahogany, jazz pianist Uri Caine, and singer Bobby McFerrin.

Her diploma ultimately read “B.A. in history” after she fell in love with the history department and the university archives. Over the next few years she alternated between history and music jobs—leading the music program at a Catholic church, earning a license to teach social studies, then teaching part-time at Appleton's Renaissance School of the Arts.

In 2006 Helen opened a piano studio at Henri's Music in Appleton, teaching students of all ages. That year she also began playing at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Appleton, where she now serves as Organist and Coordinator of Music Ministry.

As a songwriter fresh out of college, Helen combined classical training with jazz influences as she studied jazz piano and explored local recording studios. The result was her 2006 self-titled first album of original songs, ranging from personal stories (growing up, wrestling with doubts, falling in love) to a real-life historical mystery (“The Lost Ship,” about a World War II submarine discovered near the coast of New Jersey in 1989). Helen performed her songs in clubs and coffeehouses around the state, gaining fans who connected with her soulful vocals and introspective lyrics.

In 2008 she was nominated for a WAMI (Wisconsin Area Music Industry) award for best contemporary jazz artist. She released her second CD, “Sunrise,” in November 2008, a collaboration with producer Marc Golde that dug deeper with an even wider range of themes and musical arrangements. “Sunrise” features some of Wisconsin's finest musicians, including Matt Turner (cello), Tom Theabo (guitar), Byron Trammell (guitar), Patrice Michaels (vocals), and Dorothy Zerbe (vocals).

In March 2009, Helen was featured on Garrison Keillor's long-running public radio show “A Prairie Home Companion,” performing the first track from her new album, “Sky Goddess.” Click here to hear a performance. She particularly enjoyed inviting Mr. Keillor to attend church at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church the next day, to which he replied, “Were you asking for a warning?” Show less