She studies at the Kazakh National University of the Arts in Astana, where her major subject is film animation. At an early age, she began singing the traditional vocal genre known as zhyr, learning from her mother, a well-known traditional performer and a professor at the University of the Arts. Saltanat’s talent as a singer has been recognised in a number of national and international music competitions. She also plays the qobyz and the zhetigen, a traditional nomadic instrument similar to a hammer dulcimer.