She was born in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu. Her father is a former governor of an eastern province of Nepal, and her mother is the well‑known Russian poet Anna Saed‑Shakh.
Education:
October Revolution State Music College; Gnesin State Musical‑Pedagogical Institute (now the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music), Pop and Jazz Department (class of Associate Professor N. Z. Andrianova).
Teaching activity:
Since 1999 she has taught in the Pop and Jazz Singing Department at the Gnesin State Musical‑Pedagogical Institute (now the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music). She has also worked as a vocal coach on TV projects such as «Faktor A» and «Sekret uspekha» (TV channel «Rossiya»).
Among Raisa Saed‑Shakh’s best‑known students are:
- Yaroslav Dronov, finalist in season 3 of the TV project «Faktor A» and recipient of Alla Pugacheva’s Golden Star;
jazz singers and participants in the programme «Golos»:
- Olga Sinyayeva (soloist with the Big Band under Anatoly Kroll);
- Ideliya Mukhametzyanova;
- Yuliya Samoylova (second place in season 3 of «Faktor A», recipient of Alla Pugacheva’s Golden Star);
- Zhenya Malakhova (former soloist of the group «Reflex»);
- Yevgeniya Mostovaya (long‑time lead singer of the group «Soprano‑10»);
- Yuliana Karaulova (soloist of the group «5ivesta Family»).
Concert activity:
While still a student at music college, Raisa Saed‑Shakh became a soloist with Roskoncert in David Tukhmanov’s group «Elektroklub». She later worked with Vladimir Migulya’s group «Monitor» and in Sergey Lisovskiy’s concert studio «Rekord».
From the age of 19 she appeared regularly on radio and television programmes including «Utrennyaya pochta», «Shire krug», «Pesnya goda», «Do 16 i starshe» and others.
She has performed on major concert stages alongside Alla Pugacheva, Larisa Dolina, Lolita, Vladimir Presnyakov, Sergey Penkin, Alexander Barykin, Vladimir Kuzmin, Irina Allegrova, Valeriy Syutkin, Igor Talkov, the group «Mirazh» and many others.
She has also collaborated with the groups «Bravo» and «Bakhyt‑Kompot», with Yuriy Antonov, Ken Hensley and others.
Raisa Saed‑Shakh continues to perform in concert halls and prestigious clubs.
Creative activity:
Raisa Saed‑Shakh has released several vinyl records and CDs. For several years she wrote the column «MUZOBUZ» in the weekly newspaper «Sreda» (Vecherney Moskvy publishing group), and she has also sung and appeared in films.
Composition is one of the most important strands of her creative work.
She is currently preparing a programme for admission to the Union of Composers.
For several years she served as a talent‑scouting expert for performers with disabilities and as a jury member for the international «Filantrop» award.
At present Raisa Saed‑Shakh sits on the juries of international competitions and takes part in selection panels for pop‑vocalists for major TV projects.
