Our Team
Valentin Villenave (piano, musical theater, musical erudition)
Our music school wasn’t founded by Tom himself, but by Valentin Villenave who was, in the last decade of his life, one of his closest associates.
Working as an accompanist since age 11 and as a piano teacher since age 19,
Valentin was also trained in chamber music, harmony, counterpoint and
orchestration, and learned the double bass at a beginner level.
He has written hundreds of pedagogical scores as well as more ambitious
pieces, including an opera commissioned by the Montpellier national opera
house, and a whole catalogue of solo, chamber and symphonic music.
In addition to his musical training, he studied classical litterature and has a Masters in art and science communication, as well as several diplomas in art and computer teaching. His efforts to transmit knowledge and skills have led him to produce many writings, videos and podcasts; he also offers lectures, concerts and cultural actions in many forms, as well as numerous masterclasses, academies and training sessions encompassing music and computer teaching (aimed, among others, towards disabled people).
Artemis Botern (cello, theater, musical theater)
Artemis started learning the cello after they got one for their seventh birthday
instead of the eagerly awaited kitten. Three years later, their sister coerced them
into their first play: a two-person puppet rendition of Molière’s L’Avare,
which later led to a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Performance from Ohio University,
a certificate in stage combat, acting in over a dozen plays and workshops, and
writing their own material. They also have a certificate in Women, Gender and
Sexuality Studies.
Since 2024, they’ve been a teaching assistant for our musical theater workshop as well as a choir director. They’re currently working towards a D.E. in music teaching.
And they finally have their kitten.
Richard Siegel (harpsichord masterclasses)
When I entered the University of Minnesota two years later, they had just bought
a new harpsichord, and I had the pleasure of working on it with a wonderful,
very knowledgeable, teacher.
I gave my first full recital about 6 months later, playing Bach’s d-minor
concerto accompanied by a string quartet, and the following year gave a first recital
of 20th century music; from then on I never looked back.
Here, about 50 years later and after some 2600 concerts, is
a little bit more about me.
“I was 16 when I first discovered the harpsichord, and when I purchased
– with my own money – my first set of LPs, the Paillard Orchestra’s version of the
Complete Bach Harpsichord Concertos. At 16 I also decided to spend my life making music.
Helma Warum (lyrical voice workshops)
Born in Austria, Helma Warum studied music history and lyrical singing studies.
She sang in Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Amahl,
Dido and Æneas, Hänsel und Gretel,… as well as several operettas,
oratorios and recitals in France and Austria.
She occasionally coaches actors in movie productions, and has been a singing teacher for more than twenty years. She particularly enjoys putting up shows involving all of her students, with staging, costumes and theater work.
François Bernard (flute masterclasses)
A former student of Michel Moraguès and Philippe Pierlot, François can be accurately described
as a worthy descendant of the great French school of flute. He has won several First Prizes,
and has diplomas in Music Writing, Orchestration and Orchestra Conducting.
François teaches in Choisy-le-Roi conservatory near Paris; he regularly plays in recitals, as a soloist or in chamber music. He takes part in international tours (Russia, Italy, Germany) and various festivals in France.