Mirian Khukhunaishvili picked for conducting masterclass at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw
The young conducting talent is set for debuts at Wiener Musikverein and Konzerthaus Berlin next year. Photo: Agnete Schlichtkrull
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Amsterdam's Concertgebouw venue will host a series of Ammodo Masterclass, a public event involving young conducting talents learning from a master of the trade, this summer, with Georgia's Mirian Khukhunaishvili picked among four names from across the world to feature in the performance.
Khukhunaishvili, who leads Tbilisi Youth Orchestra in the Georgian capital, will join Anna Rakitina, the former Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, in the roster, along with Holly Hyun Choe, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich Assistant Conductor, and Earl Lee, who holds the same position for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
The Amsterdam venue organisers said they were "proud to welcome conducting talents Anna Rakitina, Holly Choe, Mirian Khukhunaishvili and Earl Lee for this 3-day Masterclass experience" in the hall, where they will be led by Italian conductor Fabio Luisi, who is the Music Director of both the Zürich Opera and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, as well as Principal Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra.
The four young conductors will learn from Lusi while themselves leading the orchestra of the Concertgebouw in three shows that are set to be livestreamed. Organisers said the honoured Italian conductor would give the performers tips on "musical ideas, baton technique, rehearsal technique, listening skills, communication and leadership" in the event, with orchestra members also offering their feedback.
Under his supervision, all the participants will be conducting the orchestra in a varied selection of works from the symphonic repertoire
- Preview for Ammodo Masterclass series
A graduate of the Tbilisi State Conservatoire, Khukhunaishvili received his doctoral degree in conducting at the Academy of Music in Kraków in 2020. He has led the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra and Korean Symphony Orchestra, among other groups, and co-founded Tbilisi Youth Orchestra in 2019.
He is also a co-founder and Artistic Director of the Tbilisi Classic Open-Air Festival, and has led Alter Orchestra, another Georgian-based project, since 2012. The Georgian conductor is set to make debuts at the Wiener Musikverein and Konzerthaus Berlin venues next year.
The Ammodo Masterclass series will run at the Concertgebouw on June 27, 28 and 29, with further details on livestreams to be provided by the venue.
Georgian conductor Mirian Khukhunaishvili will return to his homeland following shows in Europe to celebrate Polish music in a concert involving award-winning violinist Kamila Wasik-Janiak and the Podkarpacka Philharmonic Orchestra in Tbilisi on Saturday.
The Tbilisi Youth Orchestra will celebrate 250 years since the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven with their first post-lockdown concert in Tbilisi next week.
A performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's Ode to Joy by the Tbilisi Youth Orchestra celebrated the 250th anniversary of the birth of the composer despite self-isolation of the performers amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
Mirian Khukhunaishvili made history by becoming the first conductor to win both the Paavo Järvi Scholarship and the international audience vote at this year's Conductors' Academy of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich on Friday.