Georgian pianist Salome Chitaia’s performances have taken her across the world – United Kingdom, United States, Israel, Poland, France, Italy, Ukraine, Serbia and Georgia.

Recent notable concerto performances include appearances with Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra and Israel Sinfonietta Beer-Sheva. Salome has performed at the Pre-CBSO showcase at Birmingham Symphony Hall and at the Birmingham Beethoven Piano Sonatas Marathon with the mighty “Hammerklavier” Sonata. She is a frequent participant of international music festivals including “Easter to Ascension”, “Night Serenades”, “Contemporary Music Festival of Tbilisi”, “Georgian Immigrant Musicians in Tbilisi” in Georgia and “Fryderyk Chopin’s Birthday Festival” in Poland.

In 2017, Salome was selected by the Chopin Society in Warsaw “Stowarzyszenie Smolna” to be their representative and has given about 100 recitals and chamber music concerts in “Nowy Swiat Muzyki” and the “Chopin Salon”.

Salome was born in Tbilisi, Georgia and started playing piano at the age of 16. During her years at the Tbilisi State Conservatoire, she was a holder of the Presidential Scholarship and was very fortunate to be the last student of the renowned piano professor Nana Khubutia. After graduating with honours, she continued her studies at the Academy of Music in Krakow with Prof. Dr Hab. Andrzej Pikul and Dr. Marian Sobula. This was followed by Postgraduate Artistic Internship programme at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw with Prof. Dr Hab. Jerzy Romaniuk. During her studies in Poland, she became a laureate of a number of international piano competitions in Georgia, Serbia and Ukraine.

She has taken master classes with many distinguished professors and pianists, including Paul Badura-Skoda, Stephen Kovacevich, Stephen Hough, Sergei Babayan, Nikolai Demidenko, Norma Fisher, Boris Petrushansky, Peter Frankl, Wojciech Switala, Andrzej Jasinski, Krzysztof Jablonski, Klaus Hellwig, Natalia Troull, Michael Leuschner, Anna Malikova, Philippe Giusiano and Alexander Korsantia. She frequently participates in “London Master Classes” with Norma Fisher, “Imola Piano Academy” with Boris Petrushansky” and “International Piano Masterclasses” with Andrzej Jasinski.

Salome completed Advanced Postgraduate Diploma at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire with Pascal Nemirovski, John Thwaites and Mikhail Kazakevich. She was on full scholarship, was a recipient of the Bradshaw Bursary and received the Anthony Cross Memorial Prize for her achievements upon completion of the course.

Currently, Salome is a PhD student at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, where she is conducting practice-based research and is looking at the Lisztian trace in Ravel’s pianism. She is funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council and Georgia’s International Education Center. As a music researcher she has participated in a number of important events, including the Royal Musical Association Students’ Conference and International Musicology and Performance Symposium in Tbilisi.

She also undertakes teaching piano and her students include laureates of a international competitions. More recently, two of her students were accepted at the Peabody Conservatoire of Music and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s Junior Department.

As a leader, Salome takes on the role of Doctoral Student Advisory Forum representative at Birmingham City University. She has recently co-organized a project celebrating 30 years of diplomatic relations between Georgia and Israel, which included two concerts in both countries and was supported by the Ministry of Culture in Georgia, as well as Israeli and Georgian embassies in the two countries.