Helena Nicholls was born in London in 1986 and received her musical education at the Junior Guildhall School of Music with Jan Schmolk and Timothy Boulton, at Cambridge University under the tuition of Howard Davis, and at the Royal Academy of Music, with Remus Azoitei. In addition to her work with the Solstice Quartet, Helena enjoys performances as an orchestral leader and soloist. As a soloist Helena performed Messiaen's Fantaisie with pianist Robin Davis in the Southbank 2008 Messiaen Festival. She premiered works for violin and piano by Richard Bullen and Martin Georgiev in the Duke's Hall at the Royal Academy as part of the Mayor of London's "Story of London Cultural Campaign" in June 2009. She has played "The Lark Ascending" at St John's, Smith Square and Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with the orchestra of the Blackheath Halls and the James Allen Community Orchestra. Helena works regularly in ensembles such as the Aurora Orchestra and the Dmitri Ensemble, in both concerts and recordings and she has toured abroad with the European Union Chamber Orchestra and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Helena is very grateful to the Countess of Munster Musical Trust whose award allows her to continue her studies with Mr Azoitei.