Елена Калугина

Founder of Омский Русский Народный Хор, chorusmaster Elena Kalugina (January 21, 1902 - 1962) - founder of the Omsk Russian Folk Choir, Honored Artist of the RSFSR, graduate of the Omsk Music College, researcher of the song traditions of the Siberian region, promoter of folk culture. A subtle musician, a multi-talented personality, she will forever remain in history as the founder of a unique professional Russian song group. Elena Kalugina devoted 40 of her 60 years to the development of the musical culture of the region. Here her rare musical talent and organizational skills were revealed. Elena Kalugina graduated with honors from the Omsk Music College in vocal class and three courses at the Correspondence Institute of Musician Teachers at the Moscow Conservatory. She trained as a choir conductor, but the war prevented her from completing her studies. In Omsk, she worked as a singer on the radio, as an accompanist in a choreographic group, led vocal clubs, and was the organizer of several choral groups. She devoted all her teaching talent to the professional training of vocalists and choirmasters, working at the Omsk Music School. Elena Kalugina trained a galaxy of gifted musicians. Almost all honored artists of Russia - singers of the Omsk Folk Choir - are students of Elena Vladimirovna. But the main work of Elena Kalugina’s life, with which she glorified herself and the Omsk region, was the creation of the State Omsk Russian Folk Choir. Having never been involved in folklore before 1950, Elena Vladimirovna managed to make a lot of recordings of Siberian folk songs within a few months and began processing them for the choir. During her trips around her native land, she collected many original songs and dance tunes. Kalugina’s invaluable merit was that in forming the repertoire of the Omsk choir, she did not follow the path of imitation of already known groups, but took as a basis truly Siberian folk art, preserving the original style of song and dance. The name of Kalugina is associated with the emergence of the very concept of “Siberian folk song”. Some researchers denied the presence of an original choral singing culture in Siberia. Through enormous research and collecting activities, Elena Vladimirovna was able to refute such speculation. She was also the first to use a truly innovative technique - a choral performance of a Russian song without a conductor, and this manner was picked up not only in the country, but throughout the world. Over the 10 years of Elena Kalugina’s work in the Omsk choir, the collective has taken a special place among other Russian folk choirs, worthily representing the creativity of our region around the world. Just three years after the creation of the team, its first victory happened - at the World Festival in Bucharest. The Omsk choir won 1st prize and a gold medal, beating 32 competitors from around the world. This victory became the most striking milestone in Elena Kalugina’s creative activity; it opened the international touring life of the choir.