Russian Chamber

Orchestra

Alexander Vereshagin - Music Director & Conductor

Anna Shelest

Born in Kharkiv, Ukraine Anna began her piano studies at the age of six. At the age of eleven she performed at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris as the youngest prizewinner of the Milosz Magin International Piano Competition.
She graduated from Special Music School for Gifted Children, Kharkiv, Ukraine and from the Juilliard School.
At the age of twelve Anna made her orchestral debut, playing Rachmaninov's Piano concerto #1.
Since then she has been a soloist with Montreal Symphony Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Netherlands Symphony Orchestra and other world's most renowned organizations.
As an international recitalist, Anna has performed in Canada, France, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia and United States.
Anna has won First Prizes in International Competitions in New York, Louisiana, Netherlands and Denver.
Her engagements in Spring 2010 included a debut at Alice Tully Hall and at Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall in New-York City.

Alena Tsoi

Ms. Tsoi was born in Tashkent, Soviet Union and began to learn the violin at the age of six. She subsequently attended the Moscow Special Music School and later the Moscow Conservatory, where her teachers were Zinaida Gilels and Valery Klimov.

During her student years, Ms. Tsoi became a very active chamber music player and attended various music festivals. Her mentors were members of the Borodin Quartet, William Pleeth, Louis Krasner, and Alfred Schnittke.  She has performed on tours throughout Russia, the United States, Italy, and Great Britain.  Ms. Tsoi has been a First Violinist for the Orquesta del Principado de Asturias, Spain, the Netherlands Ballet Orchestra, and Radio Philharmonic Orchestra Netherlands.

 Ms. Tsoi moved to the San Francisco Bay Area with her family in 2001.  She regularly performs chamber music with her husband violinist, Alexander Barantschik, and as a freelance player, she takes part in recording projects and concert tours with the San Francisco Symphony.

Mariya Borozina

Mariya Borozina was born in Moscow, Russia. At the age of five, following in the footsteps of her violinist father, she enrolled in the Gnessins Special School of Music. She then studied at Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Conservatory in the studio of Marina Yashvili. After coming to the United States, Mariya graduated from the Manhattan School of Music, where she studied with Glenn Dicterow, Lisa Kim, Yoko Takebe, and Albert Markov.

During her studies, Mariya led an active musical life. In Moscow she performed in the Moscow Symphony Orchestra; the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, where she worked her way up from section violin to concertmaster; and the Vainberg Quartet. In New York Mariya played in several orchestras and ensembles, including New Haven Symphony Orchestra and DiCapo Theater; and was a substitute for the New York Philharmonic and New World Symphony.

Participation in musical festivals took Ms. Borozina around the globe and gave her the opportunity to work with such maestros as James Levine, Kurt Mazur, Pierre Boulez, Sir Neville Marriner, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Marcello Viotti. She has served as Concertmaster with the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra, the Manhattan School of Music Symphony, and the International Orchestra Institute Attergau. She has played with the UBS Verbier Chamber Orchestra, Spoleto Festival USA, and Lucerne Festival Academy.

In her free time Mariya likes to read and to spend time with her mother, who, along with her father, was always very supportive and played an important role in her becoming a professional musician.

Marilyn Thompson

Pianist, Marilyn Thompson received her Bachelor Degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she was a student of Adolph Baller. Upon graduation, she was awarded a Fulbright grant to the Vienna Academy of Music. During that year, she performed in Heiligenstadt and in the Beethovensaal in Vienna. She holds a Masters Degree from Stanford University. Miss Thompson has performed in chamber music concerts in New York City, including Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the 92nd Street “Y.”  Other performance venues include:  the Philip’s Gallery, Washington D.C.; Symphony Hall, Boston; Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco; and the Teatro National, San Jose, Costa Rico. Marilyn has taught at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the College of Holy Names in Oakland, and the University of California at Santa Cruz. She is presently on the faculty at Sonoma State University, where she has taught since 1976. Miss Thompson is the pianist member of the Trio Navarro, along with violinist, Roy Malan; and cellist, Jill Brindel.

Irina Behrendt

Irina Behrendt is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music where she earned a Graduate Diploma in piano performance. She also holds a MM in piano performance from the Petrozavodsk State Conservatory (Petrozavodsk, Russia) and a BM in piano performance and pedagogy from the Rachmaninoff College of Music (Kaliningrad, Russia). As a child, she won prizes at the New Names Russian National Competition and at the Music Spring International Festival in Kaliningrad. Having grown up in a musical family, Irina has always had a passion for collaborative playing and started her professional career as a solo performer and accompanist with the Kaliningrad Philharmonic Society and as a staff accompanist for the Kaliningrad Rachmaninoff College of Music.

Irina immigrated to the US in 1998 and since then has been fortunate to study piano and chamber music under such masters as Patricia Zander, Benjamin Zander, Vladimir Feltsman, Stephen Drury, William Corbett-Jones, Boromeo String Quartet, and the Alexander String Quartet. She was a Presser Scholar 2000 and the Avalos Prize winner at the San Francisco State University, received an honorable mention at the Fifth Ludmila Knezkova-Hussey International Piano Competition in Bathurst, Canada, and became a finalist of the First Annual Piano Competition of the Steinway Society of Massachusetts. Ms. Behrendt has appeared in solo and chamber music concerts in Russia, England, and the US. She is currently on the faculty of the New Mozart School of Music in Palo Alto, and a pianist and organist for the CUMC in Half Moon Bay. Ms. Behrendt resides in Belmont, CA with her husband Adrian and two beautiful children, Arianna, age 5 and Daniel, age 3.

Victoria Ehrlich

Sergei Riabtchenko



Sergei began his musical education at age seven and was composing by age eleven. After graduating from the Pushkin Musical College with honors in 1983, he attended  Moscow State  Conservatory, graduating in 1990.  From 1986  to  the present  time he has been a member  of   the  Arlekin String  Quartet, which  was organized by  exceptionally  talented  students at  the
conservatory under patronage of the world-famous Borodin String Quartet.
With Arlekin, Mr. Riabtchenko has performed in Russia, England, Belgium and the United States. Currently based in San Francisco, they play throughout the Bay Area and entire West Coast.

He has been an ensemble member and solo performer with the Russian Chamber Orchestra since its inception. Mr. Riabtchenko also earned a degree in composing;  he has devoted the last few years to writing exclusively Russian sacred music. The most important of his works are the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and All-Night Vigil.