Mezzo-soprano Jelena Garkavchenko has been dreaming of becoming a singer since early childhood, but due to poor material condition of the family started her music studies much later than others. She was already 14 as she entered music school, and the only opportunity at this age was choir class, where she could still study music theory and piano playing.
At the beginning she took pop-singing and jazz lessons, but at the age 16 switched to opera singing, and pretty soon got regular opportunities to sing chamber music in concerts in Riga and sometimes abroad.
Unfortunately, as she started professional opera singing class at the music college, she wasn't lucky with voice teachers. As a result, she switched to musicology and foreign languages, and eventually completed her Bachelor and Master studies at Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music. As a musicologist, Jelena was always focusing on vocal chamber music, song cycles and modern Latvian opera.
After a couple of years working as theory teacher at music college, Jelena entered the choir of Latvian National Opera, at the same time performing in concerts once in a while and dancing Argentine tango as a social dancer.
 

In 2023, Jelena has finally met her true vocal mentor - world-recognized mezzo-soprano and teacher Barbara Helena Zubanovich Baranowska. With her professionality and warm support Barbara has taken Jelena's vocal technique and passion to sing to new level.
Currently Jelena is actively performing in Riga - in churches and concert-halls. Her repertoire includes vocal chamber music, sacred music from Baroque to Romanticism, as well as opera and operetta arias.
Once in a while she makes her concerts as concert lections where she exposes her musicological
side, telling audience about the plot and historical context.

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CURRICULUM VITAE