Elena
Chekanova - born in Russia, got her first piano lesson as a 6-year old
child. In 2000 she finished Michail Oginsky’s Music College (Belarus)
and got the Diploma with highest distinction. From 2002 to 2007 she was
a scholarship-holder of Polish Ministry of Education, which resulted in
a graduation of Music Academy in Poznan (Poland) with a Master of Arts
degree at the Department of Symphony and Opera Conducting. During her
studying years she led polish orchestras, such as Poznan Philharmonic
and Toruń Symphony Orchestra. She also attended masterclasses with
John Elliot Cobbs (USA), Jose Maria Rodilla Tortajada (Spain), Achim
Holub (Great Britain) and participated the 4th Witold Lutoslawski
International Competition for Young Conductors (Poland). In 2007 she
was invited as a conductor by an_Arche NewMusicEnsemble and showed an
outstanding commitment and creativity to the contemporary music field.
During New Music Festivals Warsaw Autumn and Poznan’s Spring she
premiered numerous of contemporary works written by young polish
composers. At the same time she started conducting studies with Eiji
Oue in Hannover (Germany). After organizing and conducting successful
graduation performance in 2009 she got the sponsorship for the
Masterschool by Michail Jurowski, one of the most prominent conductors
of the old Russian school. In January 2010 she started to participate
and assist in his projects with Norrköping Symphony Orchestra
(Norrköping-Sweden), Stuttgart Philharmoniker (Stuttgart-Germany),
Toscanini Symphony Orchestra (Parma-Italy) and Niederösterreiche
Tonkünstlerorchester (Vienna-Austria). At the beginning of 2011 she has
founded and became a music director of the Madame von Meck Symphony
Orchestra (MMSO) in Hannover. With this orchestra she gives several
concerts each season. Highlights of the season 2012/2013 include her
debut with MMSO in the NDR Landesfunkhaus Niedersachsen and the first
orchestral concert in Schloss Herrenhausen Hannover under the Eiji
Oue’s musical patronage, with program including Beethoven’s Symphony
No. 5, Debussy’s Prélude ŕ l'aprčs- midi d'un faune and Stravinsky’s
L’oiseau de feu (Suite 1919).
