Hometown: Sycamore, Illinois
Began ASO in 2018

Raised on a grain farm in northern Illinois, Hellen Weberpal Habshey began playing the cello in fourth grade through her school district’s orchestra program. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from DePaul University and completed her master of Music at Rice University. Ms. Weberpal won her position with the Alabama Symphony in May 2018. She spent time living in Houston, where she worked as a contracted substitute for the Houston Symphony for two seasons. Also passionate about music outreach, Hellen held the title of Houston Symphony Community-Embedded Musician for three years, during which she was one of the four inaugural musicians chosen to help build the program. This program consisted of chamber music performances and orchestral education throughout the Greater Houston area for people of diverse backgrounds and ages. After moving to Alabama, Hellen was the recipient of a grant from the Dorothy Jemison Day Theater at the Alabama School of Fine Arts, which allowed her to compose a work for solo cello featuring various outdoor rock climbing routes in Alabama. The video was then chosen to play in the Sidewalk Film Festival in 2021.
Ms. Weberpal’s major teachers include Brinton Averil Smith, Steve Balderston, and Linc Smelser. She maintains her own teaching in Birmingham through the Suzuki Talent Education Program (STEP) of Birmingham and serves as an adjunct cello professor at UAB. When she’s not playing or teaching cello, Hellen enjoys running, rock climbing, spending time with her family, and disciplining her cat, Don Quixote.