Executive Director
Cantabile Youth Singers of Silicon Valley (www.cantabile.org) invites interest from strategic and collaborative leaders interested in serving as Cantabile’s next Executive Director.
WHO ARE WE?
Cantabile Youth Singers provides world-class vocal music instruction and performance opportunities for youth ages 6 to 18 in a supportive, enriching choral community that fosters the innate beauty, talent, and individual freedom of expression within each singer. Founded in 1994, Cantabile has been led artistically by esteemed Russian-American conductor, and music educator Elena Sharkova since 2004. Artists. Scholars. Leaders. Friends. These four concepts are at the center of Cantabile’s program, which allows students of all genders and gender identities to make lifelong friends from their earliest days.
Explore Cantabile’s Work
LISTEN: Sound Cloud
WATCH: Get to Know Cantabile Youth Singers What is your favorite thing about Cantabile?
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Cantabile’s excellence and distinctiveness in the region is delivered through its challenging, global repertoire; high caliber performance and engagement opportunities; and its unique curriculum. Its holistic approach to choral education forges vocal artistry, music theory and history; movement and mindfulness; and leadership development. Choristers engage with works across multiple languages and cultures, studying the historical, cultural, and musical significance of every work performed; incorporate movement work that engages the full mind and body in the art of singing and promotes community; engage in weekly high-level music theory classes (age appropriate); and have extensive opportunities for student leadership. (An average Cantabile season includes works in 8-10 different languages; a performing student who participates for four years experiences music from 20-25 distinct cultures and multiple genres.) The result is artistic training among the highest level available in the country, delivered in a supportive community of excellence and inclusion. Read about Cantabile’s programs here.
“What I want for my students, and I know they are doing it already, is to listen to their own voice, listen to the unique song that they have in their heart and most importantly hear the songs of others.”
– Elena Sharkova, Artistic Director
“I’ll be studying music in college next year, and I can thank Cantabile for the strong foundation I’ll bring with me. Cantabile has equipped me as a musician in ways other singing programs haven’t. There are so many powerful things I will remember including Elena’s passion, fearlessness, and ability to challenge and push her students while also feeling genuine care for them as individuals. No other community has had more impact on my life, and I will always treasure this journey.”
– Cantabile Graduate
“Cantabile is much more than ‘club choir.’ We are a group of musical enthusiasts, ambitious artists, and a community that thrives in cultural collaboration and appreciation. From performing unique Indonesian choreographies to blending with German vocalists, my experience in Cantabile has played a crucial role in widening my global perspective and instilling my fascination with international cultures. At Cantabile, we truly care about the origin of our pieces and carrying that essence throughout every performance. It is truly a special moment when everyone comes together in harmony.”
– Cantabile Graduate
Cantabile singers reflect the diverse community of Silicon Valley and include students from over three dozen cultural origins. Cantabile views its diversity as a wealth of shared experience upon which to build empathy and appreciation for others – it regularly performs music that directly addresses relevant issues of social justice, and empowers young people to engage in musical activism, leading with the notion that “people who make music together cannot be enemies.”
Cantabile’s work has been recognized with gold medals at the 5th European Choir Games as well as the Award for Adventurous Programming from ASCAP / Chorus America, given to choirs who show outstanding commitment to commissioning new music. It performs with professional and collegiate partners regularly including Symphony San Jose & Chorale, Opera San Jose, Stanford Symphony, and Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, among others. Its premier choirs tour nationally and internationally; it is the only youth chorus in the country to have its own student chapter of the American Choral Directors Association; and graduates are known to attend prestigious collegiate programs, many of whom continue to sing at the club or major level.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Cantabile Youth Singers is at an inflection point in its organizational trajectory. Since 2018, Elena Sharkova has been leading the organization’s artistic and management strategy in the dual leadership role of Artistic and Managing Director. Sharkova and the Board envision a rich future of expanded impact that will be supported by increased enrollment, a strengthened fundraising effort, an expanded board, and streamlined operations. To allow the organization to flourish artistically and strategically, Sharkova and the Board elected to separate the artistic and management portfolios and invest in a dedicated management leader. At this important juncture, Cantabile invites interest from leaders who are passionate about furthering this organization as its Executive Director.
