Having grown up in St. Petersburg, Elena Sharkova studied music education, piano and conducting at the Rimski-Korsakow Conservatoire in her home city, where she also taught. In 1993 she moved to the USA, where she first of all taught at the Western Michigan University. Convinced that singing together is the best way to bring people together, especially at a young age, she took over the artistic direction of the Cantabile Youth Singers in Los Altos (CA) in 2004. Here, children and youngsters are introduced to singing and trained in various stages from the age of four.

Elena Sharkova is one of the most active choral conductors in the USA - as a lecturer in workshops and master classes, as a conductor at concerts with her own choirs and as guest conductor of other ensembles.