Roger Helou

Born in Buenos Aires in 1978, Roger Helou is a pianist, organist, arranger, and educator whose musical journey spans from medieval music to twentieth-century popular traditions. Since 1996, he has studied organ with Enrique Rimoldi, organist of Buenos Aires Cathedral, while simultaneously developing a self-taught expertise in Argentine tango as a performer and arranger.

In 1998, he moved to Switzerland to continue his organ studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel under Jean-Claude Zehnder. At the same time, he founded the traditional tango orchestra Silencio, which he directs as pianist and arranger. Since its creation, the ensemble has performed at major tango festivals throughout Europe and has released four albums.

A decisive encounter took place in Paris in 2004 with the renowned Argentine musician Juan Tata Cedrón, with whom Helou has collaborated ever since as pianist and arranger on several recordings and artistic projects.

Alongside his work in tango, Helou developed a deep interest in the medieval portative organ through his studies with Professor Pedro Memelsdorff. This specialization has led to numerous performances and recordings, including collaborations with Corina Marti and the Sollazzo Ensemble, notably on the acclaimed album Firenze ca. 1350, awarded the Diapason d’Or of the Year in 2020. He also directs his own medieval music ensemble, Le Souvenir.

As an arranger, he has collaborated with leading orchestras and musicians, including cellist Natalie Clein, the Thüringer Symphoniker, Les Musiciens du Louvre, the Argentine National Orchestra of Music, and the Sinfónica Patagonia.

An internationally sought-after educator and specialist in the performance practices of tango’s Golden Age, Helou regularly leads advanced workshops and masterclasses across Europe. In 2012, he founded the Gran Típica Paris project, dedicated to the transmission and study of historical tango styles among professional musicians.

Between 2013 and 2014, he worked as a music programmer for La 2x4, Buenos Aires’ leading radio station devoted exclusively to tango music. Since 2017, he has also focused on the improvisation of melodic lines within fourteenth-century counterpoint, culminating in his Master's research project Ars Contratenoris.

Since 2005, Roger Helou has participated as pianist and organettist in numerous recording projects. In December 2019, he was invited by the Argentine National Orchestra of Music to conduct his own arrangements at the Centro Cultural Néstor Kirchner in Buenos Aires.

Today, Roger Helou continues to build bridges between medieval music, tango, improvisation, and contemporary performance, bringing together diverse musical traditions through scholarship, creativity, and artistic excellence.