Raishma J. Mohan-Ram was born and established in New York. Raishma is a multi-lingual Vocalist who sings in Arabic, French, Italian, Latin, Portuguese, Spanish and Sanskrit. In Western music she is trained in the style of Ballads, Broadway Musicals, Gospel, Opera and Soul. Nurturing artistic talents is an important part of her family legacy of worldly scholars and legends.
"Raishma is drawn towards the creative aspect of life which is an inherent visual perspective of life she views and experiences. Having this appreciation for all elements of life has provided Raishma with a deep value system of creativity."
Age Three
At the expressive age of three, she held her first performance in a Christian church. The congregation were in tears and expressed to her parents of how deeply moved they were by her voice. They were in shock at the "powerful voice that this little girl produced." Word spread across holy temples in New York, Pennsylvania and Texas. Raishma had a long future developing her vocal talent while touring in churches, cathedrals and Hindu temples. At the same age, on her yellow bedroom wall, Raishma went wild in drawings that had her whole family in awe. Her mother took her to the beach frequently and would never want to leave the Ocean. That was the moment when her mother knew she must nurture Raishma's gifts, her passions were brightly shining from this prolific age. Raishma's mother reached out to the founder of the Great Neck Arts Center (now known as the Gold Coast Arts Center), Regina Gill. The first class of the K-12 school was held where children painted in watercolor on the pillows that they learned to sew. Her mother then took Raishma to swim tryouts and she "moved in the water like a fish," she was spotted by a former Olympic Coach named Bob who would become a lifelong teacher. Raishma was accepted into the Fine Arts Program and her thrilling academic journey began alongside her routine swim classes.
"It quickly became apparent that she was an unusually talented child and she took advantage of multi-arts programs by studying art, music, dance, drama and other courses related to these art forms. She has performed from the very early age of three at Festivals of the Arts before audiences of three hundred to five hundred people, and did so with great stage presence and poise. Raishma is known to be creative, hardworking and eager to fulfill her dream of succeeding in the music world." -Gold Coast Arts Center
Inspirations
Raishma's Grandfather, Gobin Ram, is her biggest inspiration. He is named an international Legend who was a Scholar in Sanskrit, Minister of Culture of Guyana, and the first man of color to air on BBC International Radio on his show the Indian Hour during the time of decolonization. He hosted jam sessions in his home with fellow Indian singers, musicians and friends who visited him: Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh, Manna Dey, Ravi Shankar and more legends. Raishma's grandfather trained her in East Indian music. Raishma's mother, a classical Indian dancer, is known to have "danced into the heart" of Queen Elizabeth (1966) and her audience during an independence celebration. Raishma is also trained in classical Indian dance by her mother. Musicians who inspire her are: Jeff Buckley, Jim Morrison, Etta James, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, Lana Del Rey, M.I.A., David Bowie, Hans Zimmer, Asha Bhosle, M83 and Radiohead.
Accomplishments
Raishma became an Alumna in the Fine Arts of the Gold Coast Arts Center School of the Arts, where she attended from 1995-2007. When she reached fifteen years old, she craved for more knowledge in the Arts. She wanted to learn about its production process. Raishma began her college career while still in high school. Not only did she enroll in courses, she was accepted into an extremely competitive New York State college program for teenagers named, "College Now." She then attended courses in Media Studies, Music Production and Video Production at the Queenborough Community College and the Borough of Manhattan Community College. She graduated all of these courses with a perfect 4.0 GPA and was appointed the winner of all "Top Student Project" Awards.
With all this knowledge at such a young age in Music, she was still rejected from the programs she applied to as a Music Degree student after she graduated from high school. Though Raishma read sheet music, was trained by ear in singing, and wrote her first film score; the haughty college programs refused to teach any student Music Production without Classical Music training. She took one course in Opera that would change her life when she received yet another 4.0 GPA, but colleges only gave her the choice to study as a Singer or not to advance in music at all. She was left feeling defeat and regret. The feeling of hopelessness nearly overcame Raishma, especially after rejecting an opportunity to become an Olympic Swimmer and a full scholarship to Hofstra University as a Political Science student, so she can pursue Music in college. Her grandmother passed away the morning after Raishma promised that she will never give up studying Music. All of her scholarships in Music were pulled in her first year of College, and ignited one very angry Power Vocalist.
With the guidance of many long-time supporters, she decided to take a break to travel the world and to learn more in a trip, than she could ever learn in a college class. Many anticipated to see how she would develop as an Artist. Her open-mindedness about the world lead her to unfound corners of the Earth, like the Amazon Basin (2013) and the Palazzos of the Venice (2012)—all to pursue her passions. She made an endeavor to Venice, Italy after writing, composing and performing her first acclaimed song that she wrote at fifteen, "Sentio Lux Luciem" (Latin for 'I can feel the light'). It is an Opera piece that is dedicated to the Venetian Carnival, she ultimately performed Sentio Lux Luciem at numerous Masquerade Balls. In 2014, she started her career as a Recording Artist, bringing together a strong team of master composers, Grammy award-winning producers, and numerous sponsors. Now, she continues to collaborate with other artists of many genres. She has employed musicians for her first album: from Thereminists to Organists of Ancient Cathedral Organs, and underground synth-makers of Brooklyn.
Academic Career
Not only is Raishma an academic beast in the Fine Arts, she is one in the Sciences. Back on the winning streak, Raishma followed her family legacy of Humanism. While continuing her Bachelor's of Arts in International Relations at Hunter College (2012) she was recognized for her training with the Model United Nations Hunter College Team and skyrocketed her grades to a 3.8 GPA. She continued on her competitive path and trail blazed through all of her obstacles. Raishma currently participates in research initiatives of scientific innovation and the preservation of Earth's rain forests. The images shown on this site was taken by Raishma on a research project in the Amazon Basin of Ecuador. While working as a Business Development Consultant to pay for her education, she pushed for the installation of Solar Energy in Long Island when she worked for her client, SolarCity.
Soon after her research project to the Amazon Rainforest, Raishma was in a severe car accident that left her bed ridden for six months (2013). Raishma used this time to teach herself how to compose the music to her own lyrics, even after being rejected from the Music Degree programs she applied to. A neurologist suggested to her that she should exercise her brain with memory tests in order to strengthen her mobility. Raishma prescribed herself a dose of musical and mathematical stimulation. She exploited her physical vulnerability and soared with flying colors yet again. Raishma took courses in Astrophysics with the Arizona State University, MIT, University of Tokyo and University of Edinburgh. She honed in her abilities in the sciences (five consecutive years of winning science projects and stellar grades in Mathematics). She is now studying for her Graduate Degree in Energy Astrophysics. Raishma continues to explore her passions.
The Music
Raishma has kept her drive in Music, as she records through international borders and songwriting. Her first album is now in the making.