Kalispell woman taught 'Idol' finalist

Don't call Cathy Helder on Tuesday nights. She's riveted to her television, watching one of her former voice students sing her heart out.

Don't call Cathy Helder on Tuesday nights. She's riveted to her television, watching one of her former voice students sing her heart out.

Vonzell Solomon, 21, of Fort Myers, Fla., is one of four finalists in the Fox network hit "American Idol." Solomon studied with Helder when Helder taught voice in Florida.

Now back in her hometown of Kalispell, Helder is watching her former student collect a national following with her music and style.

According to the Fox network Web page, Solomon started singing when she was 10 and trained in classical music.

Helder said Solomon studied at the Oxford School of Music in Florida, where Helder taught. For six months or so, she worked with Solomon.

"I teach classically," Helder said. She remembers coaching Solomon with Italian arias and some classical music. Gospel was Solomon's strength and style, Helder said.

"She was just amazing. She was the sweetest thing in the whole world. She was so humble," Helder remembers. "I hope she stays that way."

Helder is a Flathead High School graduate. She was Cathy Ross when she studied vocal and instrumental music at the school, which propelled her to earn a bachelor's degree in vocal music performance and music education at Dordt College in Iowa.

She did some master's work at Cal State-Long Beach and worked in worship and music ministry and taught on the side.

What she found as she and her family moved and she worked in Southern California, Florida and Michigan is a compliment to Kalispell's music program. Students from Flathead High School stand up to those anywhere and she found she was ahead of her peers in studies after her high school education under former choir director Don Goddard.

Now back in the Flathead where she and her husband wanted to raise their three children, she has 35 voice students.

Some have heard that she taught Solomon, but "I haven't told a lot of people because it's so weird," Helder said.

She wasn't a devoted fan of "American Idol" before, she said. She mostly just watched the auditions. Then one day she saw Solomon.

"The first time I saw her on 'American Idol,' I thought, 'I think I taught her,'" Helder said.

She agrees with a judge's assessment on the show that "She's perfect for Broadway."

Helder is enjoying watching a talented woman she encouraged find fame on national television.

"It's been a hoot," Helder said.

Reporter Chery Sabol may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at csabol@dailyinterlake.com