Patara Georgika folk ensemble triumphs at Berlin festival

Georgian ensemble Patara Georgika made a lasting impression at an international festival of choir music in Germany’s capital Berlin last weekend by taking home gold and bronze medals from the competition.

The Grand Prix of Nations festival showcased professional and amateur vocal groups from 15 countries at Berlin’s Philharmonic Hall from February 1-5.

Included among the 30 ensembles was Patara Georgika – a non-professional group of children and teenagers age 6-15 from Tbilisi Public School No. 6.

The Georgian ensemble features children and teenagers age 6-15. Photo: Grand Prix of Nations.

The ensemble impressed the festival jury with its performance in the folklore category for non-professional participants and was awarded the first place and gold medal of the category.

The win also qualified the band to compete with professional contestants of the festival in a separate folklore category, where they finished in third place and received bronze for their performance.

Led by conductor Nino Kumsishvili, the folklore group’s repertoire at included Georgian Easter carols as well as folk songs from various regions of the country.

Performances of the festival were hosted at the Berlin Philharmonic Hall. Photo: Grand Prix of Nations.

Participants featured at this year’s festival included Berlin Radio Choir, Children Choir Consonance from Russia and Kaari-ensemble from Finland.

Their performances were assessed by a jury of seven artistic directors and musical artists from across Europe.

The results achieved by the Georgian ensemble will also enable them to take part in competitions organised by Interkultur – a German network of choral music events – over the next five years without having to go through qualifying stages.

Founded in 2011, Patara Georgika has brought home prizes from a number of international music events, including the principal award of the 2015 Place of Holiday contest in Lloret de Mar, Spain and second prize at the 2013 International Youth Festival-contest of Arts Muzite in Bulgaria.

The ensemble was selected to feature at the Grand Prix of Nations after impressing judges in Open Competition – another event organised by Interkultur in Germany.

Launched in 2015, the inaugural Grand Prix of Nations was held in the central German city of Magdeburg.

The full results of this year’s festival can be downloaded here.