Tbilisi Choral Music Festival brings local, foreign talent to capital
The Youth Ensemble ''Tutarchela' are part of the 9th edition of the festival. Photo: Tbilisi Choral Music International Festival.
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Participants from Georgia, Lithuania, Germany, Azerbaijan and the United States will make the Tbilisi Choral Music International Festival, launching today, a regional spot for enthusiasts.
Promoted as "the only regional festival for development of choral music", the event will again draw on its tradition on choosing a new spot for its concerts.
For this year, participating choirs will be offered the stage at venues including the Catholic Church of the Ascension of the Virgin Mary in Tbilisi, the city's Music and Drama Theatre and the Tbilisi State Univesity.
This year's programme is launching with a show of the Azerbaijan State Choir Capella and the Youth Ensemble 'Tutarchela' at the Sokhumi State Drama Theatre in the capital.
Choras VILNIUS of Lithuania is one of the ensembles offering a guest performance in Tbilisi this year:
In a standout concert for this year's festival, Georgian choirs will be joined by Choras VILNIUS, a Lithuanian ensemble, in a homage to victims of the April 9, 1989 crackdown on peaceful protesters by Soviet troops in downtown Tbilisi.
Tbilisi and Gori women's choirs, Ensemble 'Rennaissance', the Briton Singers group of Albion College and other bands will appear in performances as the event invites vocal performance fans over the following weeks. Both adult and children ensembles will be on stage for those flocking to see local and foreign choral talent.
Established in 2011 in an initiative by art critic Maia Chachava and with support from the Tbilisi City Hall, the festival is led by choirmaster Archil Ushveridze an d partnered by the Georgian National Music Centre.
Organisers aim to use the festival to preserve, develop and promote choral performance heritage and create closer bonds between academic ensembles in Georgia and abroad.
The festival will receive is audiences through May 14.
A month-long celebration of choral music and performance will bring ensembles from across Georgia, Europe and beyond to the Georgian capital for the Tbilisi Choral Music International Festival starting next week.
Georgia’s capital Tbilisi will host over a dozen local and foreign vocal ensembles for this year’s Tbilisi Choral Music International Festival starting this Thursday.
Nearly 20,000 fans attending the National Basketball Association (NBA) match between Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday were treated to a performance of the United States anthem by Georgia’s polyphonic choir Shvidkatsa.
Vocal performance enthusiasts in seven cities and towns in the Netherlands are learning about Georgia's rich polyphonic heritage via two of the country's celebrated choirs this month.
As an American polyphonic choir is touring Georgian cities and towns - performing songs by local composers and joining Georgian choral ensembles on the road - you can follow their experiences on social media.
Capitol Hill Chorale comes on tour to Georgia [VIDEO]
The Capitol Hill Chorale, a celebrated American chorus ensemble based in Washington, DC, is set to tour Georgia with performances of Georgian chants and folk songs later this month.
Examples of Georgian polyphonic singing, from folk songs from the western province of Adjara to religious hymns performed by some of the most well-known ensembles in the country, are now available online through efforts by the State Folklore Centre.
The tradition of Georgian religious hymns and ecclesiastic music has been designated as intangible cultural heritage of the nation, recognising the rich history and the living legacy of the canticles and chants preserved and performed across the country.
The Choir of the Tbilisi-based Evgeni Mikeladze Central Music School delighted audiences in Wales earlier this month and claimed the third prize of the Open Choir category at Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, a long-standing festival hosting performances in cities across the United Kingdom.