Helen Quach

Helen Quach
Quach circa 1977
Born	(1940-07-04)4 July 1940 Saigon, Vietnam
Died	31 July 2013(2013-07-31) (aged 73) Canberra, Australia
Occupation	Symphony conductor
Years active	1958–2008
Employers	New York Philharmonic Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra Manila Symphony Orchestra

Helen Quach (/kwɒk/ "quok"; 4 July 1940 – 31 July 2013) was a Vietnamese-born symphony conductor who founded the Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra in Sydney, served as the music director of the Manila Symphony Orchestra and guest conducted for symphonies around the world.

Quach was educated in New South Wales, where she studied under noted Russian conductor Nikolai Malko. She then took a conducting course from Sir John Barbirolli and Carlo Zecchi in Italy before moving to the US to serve as an assistant to Leonard Bernstein. She is considered as the first Asian female conductor hired by Bernstein in 1967. (The first female conductor hired by Bernstein was Sylvia Caduff in 1960). Helen Quach spent much of her adult life in Australia and the Philippines. Critics often commented on her toughness in spite of a diminutive appearance.^{[citation needed]}