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© Olya Runyova Ⓘ
Sopranos

Elena Podkassik

In the choir since 2013

Born in 1979 in Mariupol (Ukraine), she graduated from the Norilsk College of Arts as a choral conductor (2004) and the Sveshnikov Academy of Choral Art with a degree in Vocal Arts (2009).

Since 2011, she has been a soloist of the musicAeterna choir. She founded the female quartet JazzAeterna (since 2019 known as musicAeterna 4).

Before collaborating with musicAeterna, she worked in Moscow as a soloist of the Sveshnikov State Academic Russian Choir and the Moscow Chamber Musical Theatre Choir. She was also a choirmaster at the Church of the Holy Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II and a vocal teacher.

Her accomplishments include awards of international and regional composition and vocal competitions.

WHAT DO YOU USUALLY DO ON THE DAY OF A CONCERT?
My morning always starts with yoga or a gym session where I do breathing exercises and work on my abs. Then I have breakfast, take a shower, do a singing warm-up and go to the rehearsal. I also like to take a walk on the day of the performance. Sparsely populated places work best, so I usually walk along the embankment, in the woods or in a graveyard. This helps me focus and get ready for the concert. Right before going up on stage, I usually say the Lord’s Prayer. It makes me feel calm, confident and hopeful for a great performance.
DO YOU LIKE TO SPEND YOUR FREE TIME ALONE OR WITH YOUR FRIENDS?
In fact, I prefer being alone, or with a person that does not mind us both keeping silent. I am a part of a large troupe; we all communicate with each other very closely, and sometimes I just need a little bit of solitude. I would love to spend a week on an uninhabited island.
WHAT MUSIC RECORDS WOULD YOU TAKE WITH YOU TO THAT ISLAND?
I would definitely choose a few albums by the Trigolos folklore ensemble. They spent 10 years recording folk songs — the ones our grandmothers used to sing — in Russian villages. Their music inspires me greatly: it gives me a sense of nature, a sense of true life. Folk music is very natural. Other than that, I would of course take recordings of Mozart being performed by Teodor Currentzis and musicAeterna. Teodor’s recordings always stand out from the rest: everything is performed and produced in such a neat manner. That’s ingenious, really.
WHAT DOES MUSICAETERNA MEAN TO YOU?
MusicAeterna is a creative process that lets you discover new facets of your own self and get closer to the unreachable ideal. It is the process of infinite creative search and constant development of your professional skills and abilities.

musicAeterna choir events

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November 11, 20:00
St. Petersburg | Nevsky, 62
The musicAeterna Choir and Timofey Golberg
Choral concert

Samuel Barber (1910–1981)
Adagio for string orchestra in B-flat minor, Op. 11 (1936), arranged for choir by Sergei Anashkin

Giya Kancheli (1935–2019)
Lulling the Sun for mixed choir and percussion (2008)

Alfred Schnittke (1934–1998)
Three Sacred Hymns for a capella mixed choir (1984)

Hail Mary, Full of Grace
Lord Jesus Christ
Our Father

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943)
Fragments from the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, op. 31 (1910)

Bless the Lord, O My Soul
Praise Ye the Name of the Lord in Heaven,
Our Father
Blessed Be the Name of the Lord

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December 9, 20:00
St. Petersburg | Great Hall of the Philharmonic
Teodor Currentzis and musicAeterna. Tchemberdji, Wagner
Symphony concert

Katia Tchemberdji (b. 1960)
Nur zu weinen und zu singen…
Oratorio for orchestra, mixed choir and tenor solo set to the poems by Joseph Brodsky (2023). WORLD PREMIERE

I. Death alone gathers us
II. Clouds float over the grove
III. We want to be playing tag on the green
IV. But tell me, soul, what was the look of life
V. We won’t go up the hill anymore

Richard Wagner (1813–1883)
Der Ring Ohne Worte | The Ring Without Words
Symphonic suite based on the opera tetralogy The Ring of the Nibelung by Lorin Maazel (1987)

I. Das Rheingold |The Rhinegold
II. Die Walküre | The Valkyrie
III. Siegfried
IV. Götterdämmerung | The Twilight of the Gods

The musicAeterna Orchestra
Conductor Teodor Currentzis