CHORALSPACE Choral Celebrations @ Berlinphil

CHORALSPACE invites you to the second edition of the Choral Celebrations series in the Grand Hall of the Berlin Philharmonie under the direction of Elena Sharkova, one of the busiest festival and honor choir conductors in North America.

Since its opening in 1963, the Berlin Philharmonie has been considered one of the best concert halls in the world. Who would not want to sing there? The program includes Nänie by Johannes Brahms, Serenade to Music by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Ave Verum Corpus by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Innovative choral collaborations in Berlin’s top venues

The four days of preparation leading to the final performance are an excellent opportunity for the participants to get to know each other, to create beautiful musical moments and to explore Berlin’s irresistible charm. Additional showcases of selected ensembles as well as a fringe program with concerts in some of Berlin’s most beautiful venues will offer additional value to the experience.

Elena Sharkova, Conductor

Elena Sharkova is a dedicated music educator, speaker and clinician, and one of the busiest festival guest conductors in North America. She has been Music Director of Symphony San Jose Chorale since 2005 whom she prepared and conducted in over 50 major choral-orchestral works, such as Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem and Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. Artistic Director of Cantabile Youth Singers of Silicon Valley since 2004, Ms Sharkova leads a multi-level choral program for children and conducts its top ensembles.

Elena has had an artistically rich upbringing and a rigorous professional training: she holds a graduate degree in conducting from the same alma mater conservatory of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich etc. Elena’s recent engagements have been with Britain’s foremost professional choir, the BBC Singers in Glasgow and London, Miami-based GRAMMY-nominated Seraphic Fire, GRAMMY Award-winning men’s choir Chanticleer, etc.

As a guest conductor and clinician, Elena is highly in demand from the US to Europe, Japan, Qatar, and Australia. She has conducted on prestigious stages and world cultural landmarks such as New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Vatican, Notre Dame de Paris, and Dublin’s Christ Church Cathedral, among others.

Ms. Sharkova is thrilled to make her conducting debut at Berliner Philharmonie.