With her surreal lyrics and experimental vocalizations, Regina Spektor carved a place for herself in the anti-folk music scene and went on to conquer the pop charts. Spektor emigrated from Russia with her family in 1989 and settled in the Bronx. She attended both SAR Academy and the Frisch School yeshiva while studying piano with a teacher at the Manhattan School of Music. She graduated from the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College in 2001 and began performing in the East Village in New York, distributing homemade CDs including 2001’s 11:11 and 2002’s Songs. She signed a contract with Warner Records in 2004 and her fourth CD, Begin to Hope, rose to number 20 on the Billboard charts in 2006. Her fifth album, Far, premiered at number 3 on the charts in 2009. In 2010 she performed at the White House to celebrate Jewish Heritage Month and got a standing ovation from Michelle Obama. Her song “You’ve Got Time” is the theme of the hit show Orange is the New Black. She has performed concerts and recorded songs for different causes, including Darfur relief, Doctors Without Borders, and Planned Parenthood.