26 PASSAGE: A SPIRITUAL ODYSSEY Did your family background shape your musical journey? Completely I was named Salome after the eponymous character of Richard Strauss' opera. I grew up in that world: my grandfather was a conductor, my father as well, while my grandmother and aunt are pianists. I was raised surrounded by opera, ballet and concerts. But paradoxically, no one ever forced me to become a musician. On the contrary, my family knew how difficult this profession could be and always told me to choose it only if I truly wished to. I think that is what preserved my love of music. Your overall education has been very international… Yes: Juilliard School, then Yale University, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. This training was both intense and comprehensive. I was taught not only how to become a performer, but also how to be a citizen, how to develop goals, how to understand other artistic forms… And in Georgia, I had an extraordinary opportunity: performing on stage with an orchestra from the age of seven, several times a year. That taught me very early on how to communicate with an audience. My teacher Natalia used to tell me: ‘You never truly learn a piece until you have performed it on stage several times’, because it comes alive in performance… Today, I understand that remark perfectly.
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