Skaila Kanga was born in India and started learning the piano at the age of five. She won a Junior Exhibition to the Royal Academy of Music and later studied there with Vivian Langrish. Her interest in the harp began at 17 years of age when she was given the opportunity to study with Tina Bonifacio, Sir Thomas Beecham's harpist in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
She is an harp player.

Skaila began her career with the BBC Concert Orchestra and soon went on to freelance with many regional and all the major London orchestras under such eminent conductors as Boult, Kempe, Guilini, Monteux, Haitink, Maazel, Mehta, Barenboim, Previn, Solti, Klemperer, Svetlanov and Rattle. At this time she also worked extensively with Pierre Boulez in the BBC Symphony Orchestra alongside Sidonie Goossens and Maria Korchinska.