Helen Armstrong (violinist)

Armstrong was widowed by her first husband, Alan Cohen in 1978. They had two children together: daughter Debbie Howser and son David Cohen. She married investment banker Ajit Hutheesing, the nephew of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, in 1996. Hutheesing, was a member of the Nehru-Gandhi political family and died on 8 December 2017.

Helen died on April 28, 2006 in Greenwich, Connecticut, at the age of 63

She made her Lincoln Center debut in 1976 and went on to perform with orchestras such as the Boston Pops, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the New Polish Philharmonic, and the Martha Graham Dance Company.

Helen Armstrong (March 16, 1943 – April 28, 2006) was the founder and artistic director of Armstrong Chamber Concerts Inc (ACC), a non-profit, chamber music organization she founded in 1984. The creation and development of ACC was inspired by Avery Fisher and Skitch Henderson, who advised Ms. Armstrong that her new artistic mission should be to broaden public interest and knowledge of chamber music through performance and education. The heart of this mission has been to bring musical education to public and private schools through its unique Students’ Music Enrichment Program. More than 100,000 students have participated in this program in Litchfield and Fairfield counties, and in Harlem and the Bronx.

Armstrong was born in Rockford, Illinois, on March 16, 1943 to Dr. Robert Bruce and Hannah Armstrong. She first held a violin at the age of 3, with her mother as her teacher. She arrived in New York City, during which time she studied under Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay. She eventually attended the Juilliard School in pursuit of a solo career.

Armstrong, who was a prizewinner in the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition in Switzerland and has received awards from the Society of American Musicians and Outstanding Artists of Illinois, is listed in Who's Who in the East, Who's Who in American Women, Outstanding Young Women of America and Who’s Who in Entertainment. She has recorded on the Musical Heritage, Elysium and CRS labels — Reflections, on the Elysium label and the newest CD, Illusions, on CRS, which was recently released. Her violin, a J.B. Guadagnini, dated 1760, was one of her great loves.