Maria Goundorina was born on April 27th in 1978 in Novosskolniki, Russia. Maria started singing in a children’s choir at the age of 7, and her passion and talent for music quickly became evident. Maria went on to study conducting at the Ippolitov-Ibavov Music College and the Tchaikovsky Conservatory, both in Moscow. After receiving her diploma in choir conducting from the Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Maria went to Vienna to do her postgraduate studies in Musicology at the University of Vienna.
In 2005, Maria moved to Stockholm to study choir conducting under Professor Anders Eby at Stockholm’s prestigious Royal College of Music. Maria graduated from the Royal College of Music with an Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Choir Conducting in the spring of 2008.
In 2004, Maria was a finalist in the Competition for Young Choir Conductors in Vienna, and won the award for Best Interpretation of a Romantic Work. In 2007, Maria was the recipient of the Eric Ericson Travel Scholarship, and in 2009 she was one of the finalists in the international conductor competition The Eric Ericson Award. Maria has conducted several prominent Russian, German and Swedish choirs and ensembles both during and after her education period. In November 2009, Maria Goundorina was appointed conductor of the internationally renowned and critically acclaimed Swedish choir Allmänna Sången.