Anna Epova
Anna Epova (1903–1981) was a Soviet singer, choir founder, and music teacher. A pupil of Ksenia Dorléac, she was born on 22 December 1903 in the village of Yurgino, near Yarensk in Vologda Governorate, into the family of a smallholding peasant. Her mother was also a peasant, and the family had eight children.
Epova attended the Yarensk Girls' Parish School and then the Yarensk Girls' Progymnasium, completing her education at the Yarensk Second-Level School in 1920. She taught at a primary school during the winter of 1920–1921, then studied at the Petrograd Institute of Extracurricular Education. She later entered the Petrograd Conservatory and graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory in 1933.
After graduating, Epova became a soloist at the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theatre, where she appeared in numerous operas over nine years. She also pursued folklore work. In 1935, the book Yarensk Songs, whose texts she sang, was published in Leningrad. She subsequently wrote a Collection of Folk Songs and prepared the book Northern Wedding Rites for publication.
After the war, Epova taught in the vocal department of the music college attached to the Leningrad State Conservatory. In 1950 she founded a Russian folk-song choir from workers at Leningrad factories and plants, serving as its artistic director and vocal coach; the ensemble received the title of People's Collective. She also taught at the People's Music School and, with I. Shimkov, established a folk-singing department at the Rimsky-Korsakov Music College attached to the Leningrad Conservatory in 1964. Her pupils included honored artists of Russia V. Zholobova, R. Miroshnichenko, and N. Dumtsev, as well as Lyudmila Paramonova. Epova died in St. Petersburg in August 1981. In 2008, the choir she had founded was named after her.