Today we’d like to introduce you to Raina.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve never been particularly interested in choosing one lane. I’ve always been fascinated by what happens at the intersections where music meets technology, education meets industry, research meets creativity, and artistry meets entrepreneurship. I’ve always believed that people are far too interesting to be summed up by a single category, which is why one of my guiding philosophies is: “You are prismatic.” We are layered, multidimensional, and capable of reflecting light in many different directions at once.
My career began as a performer and vocalist, but curiosity kept opening new doors. One project became another, and before long I found myself moving between recording studios, university classrooms, research labs, conference stages, and boardrooms. Today I serve as both Program Director and Chair of the MADE Modern Artistry Development and Entrepreneurship department at the University of Miami Frost School of Music, lead an international organization dedicated to popular music education, collaborate with artists and innovators across industries, and help build projects exploring the future of music, artificial intelligence, and creative careers.
What connects all of it isn’t a job title. It’s a belief that creativity is one of the world’s most valuable resources, and that the people who shape culture are often those willing to build something that doesn’t fit neatly into an existing category. I also live by another philosophy that I painted and hung in my office: “Joyfully design the details of your life.” I try to do that every day—bringing flair, whimsy, style, and fun into every task and process, because I believe life itself is an opportunity to paint beauty into the fabric of what we do.
I’ve learned that the most meaningful opportunities rarely come from following a traditional path. They come from becoming known for a perspective. That’s what I’ve spent my career cultivating, and I feel like I’m still just getting started.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, although I don’t think that’s unique to me. Any time you’re trying to create something that doesn’t already exist, there isn’t a map. You’re making decisions without the comfort of knowing exactly how they’ll turn out, and that can be both exhilarating and lonely.
Many of the projects I’ve been most passionate about started as ideas that didn’t fit neatly into existing boxes: rebranding the look and feel of what a contemporary voice curriculum could be, reimagining contemporary music theory, building a songwriting camp, creating a company focused on solving the problem of students not having job opportunities, and refusing to accept that AI and music rights are problems that can’t be solved. Innovation often asks you to believe in something long before other people can see it.
What has defined my career most is that so much of it has happened quietly, in the background, long before anyone else knew it was happening. I’ve always been building—developing ideas, creating systems, shaping projects, and laying groundwork when no one was looking. By the time something becomes visible, it has usually already been in motion for a long time.
The biggest lesson has been trusting my intuition. I’ve stopped waiting for permission to pursue ideas that feel meaningful. Some work, some don’t, but every one of them teaches me something. I would much rather live a life built on curiosity and courage than one constrained by certainty.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
People often ask what I do, and the honest answer is that I build creative ecosystems. Sometimes that looks like performing. Sometimes it looks like research, teaching, consulting, entrepreneurship, or designing entirely new educational models. I don’t separate those worlds because I don’t believe creativity does.
As a vocalist, I’ve had the privilege of collaborating on projects with Pharrell Williams, including performances at the Vatican and the World Series, recording vocals on his personal music projects, and contributing to work that spans music, fashion, film, and culture. Alongside my colleague Tom Collins, I’ve also had the opportunity to explore the frontier of artificial intelligence and songwriting, placing in the Top 10 of the International AI Song Contest two years in a row. At the same time, I continue to create as an artist through my cabaret duo with John Redmond, my electronic duo Lipstick & Shades, my original project The Next Soon, and by constantly reinterpreting songs through my own artistic lens.
What I’m most proud of isn’t any one accomplishment. It’s that I’ve built a career where curiosity is the strategy. I don’t believe in choosing between artist or educator, researcher or entrepreneur. I believe those identities strengthen one another.
I treat my life as a dare. Two questions always return: why not and why not me. Those questions have taken me to places I never could have planned, and I suspect it’s only the beginning.
If there’s anything that sets me apart, it’s that I’m less interested in following existing paths than in creating new ones. The future belongs to people who are willing to imagine careers that don’t yet have names.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is that we have the extraordinary privilege of aiming our lives. We don’t control every opportunity, setback, or detour, but we do get to choose the direction we’re moving. That realization changed everything for me.
I’ve learned to keep moving with openness, authenticity, and a growth mindset, even when the goals themselves weren’t yet things I could clearly see or imagine. Sometimes the path disappears into fog. Sometimes you spend years building something before anyone else can see it. Sometimes the destination itself evolves. But if your inner compass is pointed toward a life that feels deeply authentic, you keep making choices that move you forward with faith that you will arrive exactly on time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rainamurnak.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rainasiforbeauty
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/rainamode
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5IDWzMrG0kPNlK6tcGUH4j?si=zdtpdIVGTCSNiuZR3z4ftA
