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The American soprano, Helene Zindarsian, has 13 years of formal training at the San Francisco Ballet School, studies at the American Conservatory Theatre, and a degree in Dramatic Art from U.C. Berkeley. An impromptu performance in an Italian palazzo led to her professional debut in San Francisco where she was hand-picked by the San Francisco Ballet Company to be the soprano soloist in a world premier production set to Gustav Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn. The following two years were spent touring Europe where settled for a time in Switzerland, singing soprano lead in a vocal quartet. After receiving an invitation to sing Richard Strauss' Four Last Songs in Chicago, she was enticed to return to the USA, where she now maintains an active concert schedule.
Helene Zindarsian is admired for a voice that “goes straight to the heart of the listener”. A frequent soloist with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, she has been featured in Campra’s Requiem, Purcell’s Birthday Ode to Queen Mary, Rameau’s Grand Motet, George Frideric Handel’s Samson, J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248), Johann Rosenmüller's Magnificat, (with Konrad Junghänel and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra), Antonio Vivaldi’s Gloria, Purcell’s Dioclesian, Cozzolani’s Dixit Dominus, and L.v. Beethoven’s Choral Fantasia. Recent highlights include Ralph Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem and W.A. Mozart’s Requiem with the Marin Symphony, and Haydn’s The Seasons with Marin Oratorio. Other favorite solo appearances include Contra Costa Chorale’s 50th Anniversary celebration where she appeared in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, R. Vaughan Williams' Serenade to Music and a world premier by Stephen Main entitled Where Everything is Music. She also recently ventured into costume, playing the roles of Venus in John Blow’s Venus and Adonis, and the First Witch in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with Marin Baroque.
Helene Zindarsian also enjoys performing with many other premier Bay Area as a professional member of several distinguished ensembles, including Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale (Directors: Nicholas McGegan/Richard Egarr), American Bach Soloists (Director: Jeffrey Thomas), San Francisco Symphony Chorus, San Francisco Opera Chorus, AVE Artists' Vocal Ensemble, Sanford Dole Ensemble, San Francisco Renaissance Voices, Throckmorton Chamber Players, Mark Morris Dance Group, and the Carmel Bach Festival Chorale. Beyond the Bay Area, she is also familiar to audiences in Chicago, where she has performed Berlioz' Les nuits d’été with the Park Ridge Civic Orchestra, a group with whom she earned acclaim for her interpretation of Strauss' Four Last Songs on a prior tour. As a result of these performances, she received a grant to produce the album “Janabar”, a collection of Armenian liturgical hymns, some of which date to the 5th Century. The project received its international debut in a solo concert presented by Filarmonica Laudamo in Messina, Italy, where she has gradually established herself as a regular guest artist. She currenly lives in San Rafael, California. |
