About

Dr. Nafset Chenib — Soprano, Educator, PhD in Musicology

I unite performance, scholarship, and pedagogy in a single artistic voice — where technical excellence meets meaning, and craft serves expression. As an artist-scholar, I bring together technical mastery with rigorous academic inquiry.

Core Expertise

Performance: Operatic and crossover soprano.
Voice Instruction: A science-based approach prioritizing physiological reality and anatomical clarity.
Diction Coaching: Specialist in English, German, Italian, and Russian.
Musicology: University-level lecturing in the Western Classical Canon and interdisciplinary studies.

Nafset stands leaning gently back against a wall, wearing a flowing ivory gown with sheer, embroidered sleeves visible at the wrists. Her hands are clasped in front of her, her expression calm and contemplative, softly lit in three-quarter shadow. — Photo — Victor Zhulin. Dress — Madina Saral’p. Styling — Madina Saral’p and Lika Saral’p.

The Singer

Born to a Circassian family in the Republic of Adygea, in the North-West Caucasus, I am a Circassian operatic and crossover soprano whose repertoire spans opera, sacred music, art song, musical theater, and film scores. My musical journey began in childhood; as a member of the UNESCO Children’s Choir, I sang in a performance for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. My career has been defined by collaborations with world-class orchestras including the Svetlanov State Symphony and the Baden-Baden Philharmonic, and by a career highlight: headlining the closing ceremony of the XI Winter Paralympics in Sochi (2014), alongside José Carreras. My honors include Second Prize at the VI Georgy Sviridov International Competition, the Pablo Casals Award from the Manhattan School of Music, a Certificate of Recognition from the California Department of Education for a solo concert performance in Sacramento (2017), and the title of Honored Artist of the Republic of Adygea — its youngest-ever recipient. I am also one of the few singers able to perform in the Circassian language, a rare skill I brought to the stage most recently at the Circassian Culture Days in Munich, Germany (April 2026).

A screen capture from the XI Winter Paralympics Closing Ceremony broadcast. Nafset stands on a raised, illuminated round platform encircled by a low metal railing, both hands resting on the rail. She wears an elaborate white performance costume — a sheer, iridescent wrap over a voluminous, structurally pleated white gown — with a crown-like headpiece of white feather-like spikes and small lights woven through her hair, and a headset microphone at her cheek. Behind her, a packed stadium audience bundled in winter clothing, many in red and orange, is visible under the ceremony’s dim, colorful lighting. — Screenshot from the official XI Winter Paralympics Closing Ceremony broadcast (Sochi, Russia, 2014) — the same performance video linked on the Performances page.

Photo — Yuliya Porushkova. Circassian ethnic dress — Madina Saral’p. Hair and makeup — Alexander Kilin.

I have performed at prestigious venues including the United Nations in Geneva and New York, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Grand Hall of the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory, the Leyla Gencer Opera and Arts Center in Istanbul, and Teatro Massimo di Cagliari in Italy.

Positions & Affiliations

Leading Soloist (Soprano), St. Petersburg State Philharmonic for Children and Youth (2021–2022) — performed a wide-ranging repertoire with the Philharmonic’s own Children and Youth Orchestra, the International Taurida Symphony, and the Leningrad Oblast State Symphony Orchestra. During this appointment, became the first blind soprano to sing the title role of the blind princess in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta, in a semi-staged performance at the International Choral Festival, Ivangorod Fortress, Leningrad Region (2021).
Soloist / Guest Performer, Chekhov Moscow Art Theater (2015–2017) — featured vocal artistry in theatrical productions, including the role of a singer in Alexander Ostrovsky’s Truth Is Good but Happiness Is Better.
Head of the Jury Panel, Music Category, All-Russian Inclusive Creative Competition "Access is Open" (2021) — evaluated vocal and instrumental performances by adult contestants with disabilities from across Russia.

The Scholar

I hold a PhD in Musicology from the City University of New York (CUNY). My dissertation examines representations of blindness in nineteenth-century opera, at the intersection of music, society, and disability studies.

Education

I hold a PhD in Musicology (2024), awarded with distinction, from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, under the advisement of Joseph N. Straus. I completed postgraduate vocal studies at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg under Allison Oakes, and earlier trained at the Manhattan School of Music (Professional Studies in Vocal Performance, under Maitland Peters). I hold a dual Master’s degree from the Victor Popov Academy of Choral Arts in Moscow — a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and a Master’s in Voice Pedagogy, under Tatiana Baykova — and a Bachelor of Music from the Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov Musical College in Krasnodar, under Ivan Shulzhevsky. I have also participated in masterclasses with Mirella Freni, Jennifer Larmore, and Reiner Weiss.

The Artist-Scholar

I present a distinctive lecture-recital format that blends academic inquiry with vocal performance — most recently at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York (April 2025), where I delivered a lecture-recital on women composers of the Western classical canon.

The Educator

My teaching draws equally on an international performing career and rigorous vocal science. I’m committed to inclusive pedagogy and Universal Design for Learning (UDL), tailoring instruction to each student’s learning profile — in the university lecture hall and the private studio alike. I have taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels at Hunter College, and since 2026 I have served as Voice Faculty at the Filomen M. D’Agostino Greenberg Music School (FMDG) in New York, teaching classical voice to blind and visually impaired students.

A close, bust-length portrait of Nafset in traditional Circassian dress, turned slightly to the side with her gaze toward the camera. The photo shows the dress’s chest fastenings in detail — rows of decorative gold buckles running down each side of the chest over a black underlay, with a stand collar at the neck. — Photo — Yuliya Porushkova. Circassian ethnic dress — Madina Saral’p. Hair and makeup — Alexander Kilin.

Downloads

All three PDFs are accessible, tagged documents.

Academic CV (PDF) — dissertation, education, teaching experience, performance experience, and publications.
Performance Resume (PDF) — collaborations, recitals, opera and theatre roles, and honors.
Press Biography (PDF) — short and long third-person biographies for presenters and journalists.