Baya Kakouberi, pianist, has been hailed as a "treat to watch and hear" was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, and made her debut at the age of eleven.  After graduating from Tbilisi Special School of Music for the Talented and Gifted, she entered the Moscow Conservatory, where she continued her studies on the Masters and Doctoral levels under the tutelage of famous pianist and professor, Sergei Dorenski, and Tchaikovsky Competition Gold Medalist, Vladimir Krainev.In March 2010, Dr. Kakouberi was honored as the recipient of the coveted International Ambassador for Cultural Exchange Award. Awarded by the Russian Winter Festival at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, this award recognizes outstanding achievement in performing and teaching disciplines domestically and abroad. In 2009, Ms. Kakouberi was engaged to tour China a soloist. Due to her much sought after teaching skills, she is also rounding out the cultural event by presenting master classes in the leading conservatories in mainland China. She is the head of the piano department at the 5th annual Elan International Music Festival held in Dallas for two weeks in June, www.elanmusicfestival.org In 2008, she collaborated with violinist Gary Levinson in the recording of the complete sonatas for piano and violin by Beethoven. The project was spearheaded by the Classical Music Recording Foundation. The four CD set is slated for release n 2011. Ms. Kakouberi has appeared as a soloist with orchestras in Moscow, Georgia, Armenia, Latvia, Italy and the United States. In 1996, she was among the Worlds Ten Most Distinguished Pianists chosen by the Palm Beach Invitational Piano Competition.  In the summer of 2000, Ms. Kakouberi was chosen as recipient of the Most Outstanding and Distinguished Pianist award in the IBLA International Competition in Italy.  In addition to her solo recitals, she has appeared as guest soloist in concerts throughout the US and Europe, including performances at Moscow Conservatory Great Hall, Steinway Hall in New York, and the Cerritos Center for Performing Arts in California.  As a chamber performer Ms. Kakouberi made her debut at Carnegie Weill Recital Hall in New York in February 2002. Ms. Kakouberi returns to that venue in a scheduled appearance on the CMRF annual gala concert in the fall of 2011 at Weill Hall.Noted as an outstanding Chamber Music Artist, Ms. Kakouberi is the Artistic Director of the Blue Candlelight Music Series in Dallas, Texas, www.bluecandlelight.org where she enjoys collaboration with internationally renowned artists. As a noted chamber musician she has appeared numerous times at the Music in the Mountains Festival in Durango, CO, where she was also a frequent soloist. She is a household name at the major venues in North Texas, such as the University of North Texas in Denton, TX, the Dallas Museum of Art and the Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts where she has appeared as a concerto soloist. Ms. Kakouberi regularly appears with her most gifted students at the Giovanni Adulti Concert Series held at the Piano Gallery in Dallas. In an unprecedented project in the spring of 2009, Ms. Kakouberi has recorded the three books of the Russian Piano Technique, based on the teachings of Professor Nikolaev, to be used in practice and performance techniques  for students of all levels.