Sing on!

sing@musyca.org

Dr. Anna Krendel is the Founder and the Executive Director of MUSYCA Children's Choir.  Anna is a virtuoso pianist, whose performance career spans from recitals, chamber music concerts, and choral performances to studio work and movie soundtracks.  She also enjoys working with producers, artists, and composers as a vocal music contractor & coordinator, who books talented singers and musicians for film & television, soundtracks, recordings, and live performances in Los Angeles. 

A renowned music educator and piano pedagogue, Dr. Krendel served as the district coordinator and president-elect of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAPMT) and is an adjudicator for the Royal Conservatory Music Development Program and Music Teachers' Association of California piano competitions.  

Born in Ukraine, Dr. Krendel studied piano performance at the Kharkov Conservatory.  She completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance at the University of Southern California, studio of Dr. Alan Smith. Dr. Krendel has earned a Master's Degree in piano performance at California State University Northridge, where she studied with Dr. Frank McGinnis and Ms. Francoise Regnat.  Dr. Krendel is the winner of several competitions and a recipient of numerous university and community awards, including the Jacob and Bronislaw Gimpel Memorial Award. 

misha@musyca.org

Dr. Mikhail Shtangrud is the Artistic Director of MUSYCA Children's Choir. 

Dr. Shtangrud's students sing on concert and operatic stages, appear in film and on TV, star on Broadway and at the Los Angeles Music Center and collaborate with leading composers, musical artists and producers. His vocal ensembles performed at the top venues in the US and around the world.

As MUSYCA's artistic director, Dr. Shtangrud coached singers and led choirs on numerous hit music records, including Grammy-nominated albums "Donda" by Kanye West (Album of the Year, 2022) and "Ella Mai" by Ella Mai (Best R&B album, 2020).

In addition to his work with MUSYCA, Dr. Shtangrud serves as the Artistic Director of the Burbank Chorale, inspiring audiences with electrifying performances of the world's greatest choral music.  He also served on the faculty of the University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music. During his 15-year tenure as the Director of Choral Programs at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, Dr. Shtangrud helped to nurture a lifelong love for music and singing in hundreds of students, growing the program from 20 singers to more than 200 and from three choral ensembles to eight.

Born in Moscow, Russia, to a family of choral conductors, Mikhail studied violin and piano at the Liadov Children’s Music School and sang with the Big Children’s Choir of the Russian State Radio & Television. Misha later studied choral conducting at the Moscow State Music College of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory. He earned a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance at CSU, Northridge, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Music Education from the University of Southern California.

D.M.A., University of Southern California; B.M., M.M., California State University, Northridge;  choral conducting and music education studies, Moscow (Russia) State Music College; vocal studies with Curt Allen, Jonathan Mack, Elizabeth Parham, Dr. David Scott and Lee Sweetland. Artistic director, Burbank Chorale; Director of Choral Programs,  Colburn School. Director, Burbank Chorale Orchestra. Guest conductor, New Valley Symphony, Symphony in the Glen, Colburn Chamber Orchestra. Vocal soloist in oratorio, opera, soundtracks. Vocal coach: Center Theatre Group, Tectonic Theater Project, "Masha and the Bear" animated series, Funny or Die. Soundtrack composer.

Dr. Shtangrud is featured in the BBC documentary The Songs of Comrade Time, which tells the story of Victor Popov's Big Children's Choir of the State Radio and TV in the former Soviet Union. Click on the link above to listen to the show or read "What became of the Soviet Union's child stars?" 

For booking inquiries, including music composition, choral arrangements, recording, conducting, choral festivals, workshops, and clinics contact sing@musyca.org.  

Grace Doyle is the Kinderchoir director and Musicianship teacher at MUSYCA Children’s Choir. She also serves at a music teacher at St. Paul the Apostle School in Westwood.  Ms. Doyle performs as a cantor at a local church and sings in various musical ensembles around Los Angeles and is the Soprano section leader of the Burbank Chorale.  She graduated from the California State University, Northridge with a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance. 

Zsanae Spinks is the teaching artist at MUSYCA Children’s Choir.  A talented vocal soloist and recording artist, Ms. Zsanae is currently teaching the SuperSingers and coaching Harmony Ensemble and Chamber Singers.  

When Cheryll Desberg was in the 7th grade, her chorus teacher asked her to turn her back as he played a C# on the piano. He asked her to identify a few more random notes and after multiple tries, he said, “You’ve got Perfect Pitch.” But that was far from her beginning in music. By the time she was three and a half, she was playing the accordion, and by age six, she was winning national competitions. But it didn’t end there… Her lifelong professional music career was split between her two passions: performing and teaching music. Performing Cheryll Desberg has been performing music from the time she was a child. Throughout her public school years she was always singing in choirs and madrigal groups. As an adult, she sang with the San Diego Master Chorale and then with the LA Master Choral for 20 years under all four of its conductors (Roger Wagner, John Currie, Paul Salamunovich and the current conductor, Grant Gershon). She was privileged to perform under the orchestral batons of Zubin Meta, Sir Simon Rattle, Essa Pekka Salonen and the LA Philharmonic Orchestra at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. She also sang with jazz luminaries Randy Van Horn, Phil Mattson and Al McNeil.   In addition to classical singing, Cheryll is a versatile vocalist who sings across all musical genres. She has sung big band jazz as well as rock, R&B, country, folk, musicals and show tunes. She even worked for two years as wedding chapel vocalist on the Queen Mary. Teaching For almost 30 years, Cheryll maintained a full time career teaching choral music with the El Monte City School District.  She also taught fundamentals of musicianship. She is a certificated practitioner of both Orff and Kodaly teaching methods. Education Cheryll earned a B.A. in Vocal Performance from CSU Fresno and was the first person to receive an M.A. in Vocal Jazz from CSULA under mentor, Michele Weir. Her pop and jazz styles were honed at the Dick Grove Music Workshop.