Music has been central to my family and my life since I can remember. My grandfather and uncle played at nearly every family celebration, having the whole family dance and sing along.
Only later on, at the Technical Music school, I discovered my love for Classical music. There, I learned to sing Opera in Italian and Russian. We learned different types of Classical genres.
Working around the Middle East, for the most part, I sang popular music in different languages. In the early 90’s, while performing in Syria, a French businessman, George Glickmans , introduced me to Jazz and its standards.
From that moment I fell in love with Jazz. From the morning to the evening, I only listened to jazz songs and tried to learn them.
My favorite singers, from which I gained inspiration, are Julie London, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simon, and Rachel Ferrel. These singers not only inspired me, but gave me the strength to improve my career.
I was born in Severodvinsk, a region in Northern Russia named Arkhangelsk. I started to learn music in an experimental school at the age of 7. In 1984, I went to the Arkhangelsk music Technical College as a Music Conductor of the Choir. In 1985, I transferred into Classical Vocals with the famous Opera Professor Nina Demidova. I graduated in 1989 and went to the St. Petersburg Conservatory in its Petrozavodsk filial under Professor Valery Volchkov.
In the second year of my courses, I was recruited for an international tour as a lead singer for a popular European band. We received a lucrative 2 year contract touring in Europe and the Middle East.
When the contract finished in Switzerland, I went on tour to various countries in the Middle East, including Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. In these countries, I performed with various well known musicians like Rida Zaarour, Oxana Volkova, Ziad Khouloki, Elena Karavatskaya, and Alexey Lyga.
In 1998, I married my husband Mauro, an Italian engineer, who at that time was working in Syria. In 1999 we moved to the United Arab Emirates and had two daughters.
In 2001, I started my studies again in the Moscow Academy of Gnesini on the faculty of Pop & Jazz vocals. I graduated with Honors in 2005 as a Professional Singer and Teacher of Vocals.
After my graduation, while giving vocal lessons, I performed at Jazz and Blues festivals with a group of musicians from Arkhangelsk. In 2007, my band, named North Project, recorded a CD in Moscow with jazz standards re-interpreted by Igor Gorkovoy.
The North Project band was composed of Tim Dorofeev, Juri Strelkov, Oleg Yudanov, Igor Gorkovoy, and myself. We toured many counties including Norway, Russia and Syria.
In 2013, my friend, Alec Sheah, a blues guitarist from the United States helped me record my first CD with American Musicians.
In the month of May 2014, Magic of Love, was recorded in the San Francisco Fantasy studios.
The following year, January 2015, I recorded my second album “Home” in that same studio.
Both albums were composed by talented artists, music by Keith Saunders and lyrics by Ellen Johnson.
The “Magic of Love” musicians were:
Keith Sunders, piano
Jay Sanders, trumpet
Jeffry Burr, guitar
Adam Gay, bass
Leon Joyce, drums
The musicians for the second album, Home, remained the same with the addition of Hanna Mignano on the violin and Noel Jewkes on the clarinet and saxophone.
Other than Jazz, I surely enjoy pop, rock and folk. However, being Russian, I definitely love and enjoy traditional Russian music the most.
My beloved husband, Mauro, and my daughters have always supported me throughout my career.