The daughter of a guitar player and a pianist, she was born and raised next to the Sea of Japan in the tiny port town of Nakhodka, Russia – the Easternmost stop for passengers on the Trans-Siberian Railway. It was her father who introduced her to Queen’s classic record Bohemian Rhapsody by playing it loudly, and on repeat in their household – it was her first introduction to Western music. Herself a classically-trained pianist by the age of 6, Ksenia was entering music competitions and beauty pageants at 13. She didn’t win the local singing contest on her first attempt, but was indeed successful on her second try... “You’d never win anything in a bigger city!” her brother playfully reminded her. She proved him wrong when she appeared as a finalist on the national Russian television show “Sing If You Can,” where she performed for large audiences under intense pressure. Ksenia’s passion for singing eventually paid off as a full scholarship at Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, where she traveled the country performing traditional Russian songs. Her studies as an advertising and music student continued on in St. Petersburg, where she was awarded her academic degree from St. Petersburg Technological University while simultaneously engaging in rigorous vocal training at the prestigious University of Culture and Arts.