Welcome Elena Sharkova!

New Artistic Director for Cantabile Children’s Chorus

by David Vossbrink, Guild Secretary

BCG is delighted to announce that Professor Elena Sharkova has accepted the position of Artistic Director of Cantabile Children’s Chorus. She brings incredible energy, focus, and experience that will take our children’s music and education programs to premier levels.

Elena will take the baton from founding director Signe Boyer, who retires at the end of this season after 10 years with Cantabile. “Knowing that I leave Cantabile and our children in Elena’s hands is a wonderful gift to me and to our young singers and their families. I’m confident she will do great things with our kids and for our community.”

BCG introduced its audiences to Elena in March when she gave the preconcert lectures for Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil. And in February, as a clinician at a couple of the rehearsals for that program, she earned rave reviews from the adult choristers.

Elena, a native of Russia, is currently assistant professor and director of choral programs at San Jose State University, where she teaches choral conducting, voice, and choral methods and conducts three choral ensembles. Prior to joining the SJSU faculty in 1998, she taught at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo and at the Rimski-Korsakov State Conservatory in St. Petersburg. At the conservatory’s Music School for Children, she established their choral department in 1987.

As a performer with Lege Artis, one of Russia’s finest professional choirs, and as their managing director, Elena performed with Rostropovich and Pendereczky, recorded six CDs for the Sony Classical label, and for five years toured extensively in Europe, Russia, and North America.

Throughout her career, she has been active as a guest conductor, clinician, and chorusmaster for a wide range of professional, university, community, church, and children’s choirs. She has prepared choruses for the San Jose Symphony, San Jose Cleveland Ballet, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, and Mission Chamber Orchestra. Most recently, Elena conducted the National Children’s Chorus for the 30th National Conference of American Kodaly Educators held in San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall.

“I’m deeply honored by this appointment because I have so much respect for Signe and what she has done for children’s music in this area,” said Elena. “I want to build on the foundation that she and the Baroque Choral Guild have built to enrich our children, their families, and our community with excellent music. Singing gives young people a wonderful opportunity to explore and evolve. There is nothing that gives me more hope than seeing and hearing children sing.”

Volume 12, Issue 4

Baroque Choral Guild, 953 Industrial Ave. Ste 118, Palo Alto CA 94303, 650.424.1410