Come along to two-week New Year music festival in Tbilisi

Some of Georgia’s top musical talents are performing alongside foreign stars at this year’s New Year music festival in Georgia’s capital, and you are invited to hear them perform.

For the next two weeks Tbilisi is hosting the 18th annual New Year Music Celebrations.

The international music festival opened at the Tbilisi State Conservatory Great Hall on Monday December 14 with a trio jazz performance led by drummer Jeff Ballard, while seven more performances will be held in the coming days until the final show on December 29.

American jazz drummer Jeff Ballard and his trio delighted audiences at the Tbilisi Jazz Festival in October. Photo from Tbilisi Jazz Festival.

This year’s festival will see a dozen artists and small bands take to the stage and perform jazz events, piano recitals, chamber music concerts and an organ music evening.

Included in this year’s lineup are internationally acclaimed pianists Boris Berezovsky and Alexander Korsantia, violinist Nikita Borisoglebsky and organist Gabriel Koniaev.

This year's program also featured a new aspect – a special Debut section of the event will see London-based Georgian pianist Luka Okrostsvaridze, 24, perform in Tbilisi for the first time.

See award-winning Georgian pianist Luka Okros perform at the 2015 Valencia International Piano Competition below:

Known by his stage name Luka Okros, the young performer claimed the top prize at the 2015 Valencia International Piano Competition along with eight other awards and prizes at international events this year.

The musical occasion will also feature other forms of art; Georgian painter Yura Berishvili will exhibit his works in the foyer of the Tbilisi State Conservatory Great Hall, following on from his personal exhibition at the TBC ART Gallery in Tbilisi in July.

The New Year Music Celebrations was established by Georgian pianist Manana Doijashvili in 1997 and is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia.

This year's Festival will conclude on December 29. The full program can be viewed on the official Tbilisi State Conservatory website here.