He graduated from the Tula Music College named after A. S. Dargomyzhsky in the class of A. V. Dolgov, who played an important role in his professional formation.
In 1970 he entered the Gnesin State Musical‑Pedagogical Institute (now the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music). His student years in the class of Associate Professor Lyudmila Mikhailovna Andreyeva were filled with vivid and unforgettable impressions.
After completing his studies at the Gnesin Institute, V. I. Sorokin successfully finished the assistant‑traineeship at the Choral Conducting Faculty.
In 1978 V. I. Sorokin joined the Choral Conducting Department as a teacher, where he still teaches core disciplines, including conducting, choral ensemble (chorus master from 1978 to 1985), choral score reading, and choral arranging. He also gives lecture courses in the history and theory of performance and the history of Russian choral music, and supervises diploma theses.
Vladimir Ivanovich combines the qualities of a gifted chorus master, an inquiring scholar, and an experienced teacher. The wide range of subjects he teaches attests to his broad pedagogical scope. His work is marked by true professionalism, exceptional erudition in many fields of art, and the highest artistic standards. Thanks to the strength of his personality and authority he creates an atmosphere of deep professional engagement; any request for advice meets with a thoughtful and supportive response. A subtle psychologist, he is able to discern and develop each student’s individuality and to pass on to them everything he himself knows.
Around forty students have graduated from V. I. Sorokin’s choral conducting class. They now work in music schools, colleges, and universities across the country, directing both children’s and adult amateur and professional choirs.
Among his former students are:
- V. Pozdneev, Artistic Director of the Orenburg State Academic Russian Folk Choir;
- I. Yandulskaya, teacher at the Gnesin State Music College (until 2005);
- S. Shevaldina (Filippova), Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Arts at the Lipetsk State Pedagogical University;
- N. Nosova (Filatova), teacher at the A. K. Lyadov Children’s Music School;
- N. Mironova, Chief Chorus Master of the State Academic Northern Russian Folk Choir;
- N. Baranova (Asmus), Senior Lecturer in the Department of Choral Conducting and Liturgical Chant at the St Tikhon Orthodox University;
- V. Kiryanov, chorus singer at the Helikon‑Opera Music Theatre and assistant‑trainee in the Orchestral Conducting Department of the Gnesin Academy (class of Professor T. K. Mynbaev);
- S. Perekhodova, director of the folk ensemble «Teplo letechko» at Art School No. 52 in Mytishchi.
Several students whose diploma theses were supervised by V. I. Sorokin have gone on to postgraduate studies at the Historical and Theoretical Faculty of the Gnesin Academy, including E. Salnikova, E. Sabadyshina, E. Sadikova, A. Ryzhinsky, and others.
Sorokin’s work as a chorus master has included positions with the «Vesnyanka» Children’s Choral Studio (1971–1974) and as director of the «Zvonkiye golosa» Vocal and Choral Studio at the Builders’ Palace of Culture (1976–1981).
The most notable chapter of his performing career was his tenure as Chief Chorus Master of the A. A. Yurlov State Republican Academic Russian Choir (1981–1991). With this ensemble he gave numerous concerts in Moscow, Ulyanovsk, Omsk, Tolyatti, and Novgorod, and took part in radio, television, and Melodiya recordings.
V. I. Sorokin has repeatedly toured abroad with the choir, including visits to Bulgaria (1984), Poland (1987), and France (1989).
Since 1991 he has combined his teaching with research work as a staff member of the Department of Archival and Manuscript Materials at the M. I. Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture, where he catalogues and studies the archives of prominent performers, composers, and musicologists, including A. V. Alexandrov, B. A. Asafiev, A. V. Sveshnikov, V. G. Sokolov, K. M. Lebedev, M. I. Pekelis, D. L. Lokshin, and others.
V. I. Sorokin also works on the identification of archival choral recordings (including those of I. I. Yukhov’s and S. A. Zharov’s choirs) and helps prepare materials for the second volume of the museum’s Guide to Archival and Manuscript Collections. On his initiative, and with his direct involvement, the museum established the archive of the distinguished choral conductor A. A. Yurlov.
His scholarly work focuses mainly on articles and studies about choral conductors such as P. G. Chesnokov, G. A. Dmitriyevsky, A. V. Alexandrov, A. V. Sveshnikov, A. A. Yurlov, L. M. Andreyeva, and others. Together with A. T. Tevosyan he has prepared a monograph on I. I. Yukhov for publication.
He has also contributed to a collaborative research project compiling materials for a chronicle of Russian musical culture of the Silver Age (c. 1880–1917), which forms part of Volume 10‑B of the «History of Russian Music» (section on concert life in the provinces). In addition, V. I. Sorokin took part in developing and implementing the second‑generation State Educational Standard for Higher Education in the specialisation «Academic Choral Conducting», and has authored curricula in choral arranging, the history of choral music, and the history and theory of choral performance.
Professor V. I. Sorokin plays an active role in the professional‑development programmes of the Gnesin Academy, reviews teaching and methodological materials for music‑education institutions across Russia, and chairs State Examination Boards at the music colleges of Tula, Novomoskovsk, and Kolomna.
