Rita Sahai

Area Served

About Rita Sahai

Rita Sahai is a rare Hindustani vocalist residing in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States. Ritaji’s uniqueness comes from her being simultaneously a soulful performer, a brilliant and prolific composer and a venerated music teacher. She is a senior disciple of Sangeet Samrat Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Saheb, and is the only vocalist and composer to carry forward the heritage of the Seni Allaudin Gharana. She has served as an ambassador of India’s rich musical heritage over the three decades that she has been in the United States.Hindustani vocal classical and light classical lessons, music workshops concerts ensemble performances etc. Rita, an acclaimed composer, performer and teacher of Hindustani (North Indian) vocal music, tours extensively throughout the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and India. Rita, an acclaimed composer and performer of Hindustani (North Indian) vocal music, tours extensively throughout the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and India. In the three decades that she has lived in the United States, Rita has served as an ambassador of India's rich musical heritage. Through workshops and lectures she has reached out to the larger non-Indian community and educated them in the intricacies of Hindustani music. She conducts classes all over the Bay Area, from Sacramento and Berkeley to Fremont and San Jose. Her students come from varied cultural and musical backgrounds. Rita’s Western students discover a universal appeal and depth of emotion when singing classical ragas, and Rita's classes are a way of reconnecting to the art and culture of their mother country for her Indo-American students. Sahai is a faculty member at UC Davis, in the department of Ethnomusicology, and is director of two choir groups - the UC Davis Hindustani Ensemble and the Vasundhara Choir. Rita has also taught music at Ali Akbar College of Music, San Jose State University, Mills College and UC Berkeley as well as a course on creative world music.