THE SYMPOSIUM IS HELD UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF THE PRESIDENT OF GEORGIA
BY THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND MONUMENTS PROTECTION OF GEORGIA
ORGANIZERS OF THE SYMPOSIUM:
THE V. SARAJISHVILI TBILISI STATE CONSERVATOIRE
Tbilisi State Conservatoire is the center of musical education, performance and musicological studies in Georgia. It was founded on 1 May, 1917. Since the day of its foundation the Conservatoire has brought up a great number of outstanding musicians, performers and generations of Georgian composers and musicologists. The list of the Conservatoire’s students and graduates – prize-winners and laureates of the world’s most prestigious international competitions, is quite long. Many remarkable musical forums, national and international competitions, scientific symposia and conferences are organized at the Conservatoire.
THE INTERNETIONAL RESEARCH CENTER FOR TRADITIONAL POLYPHONY was founded on 1 February, 2003 by the support of UNESCO on the premises of Tbilisi State Conservatoire Department of Georgian Folk Music, the Department’s and Secular and Sacred Music Research Laboratory. The Center was involved in the realization of UNESCO’s three-year (2003-2006) program for the “Safeguarding and Promotion of Georgian Traditional Polyphony”. The Center has elected the International Steering Committee. As part of this program the Center established bilingual bulletin; published the book of essays by Georgian ethnomusicologists in English, the textbook on Georgian folk music (in Georgian). Also, with the financial support of the Georgian Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection published the Catalogue of Wax Cylinder Collections in Georgia and sixteen CDs from the archival recordings. The Center also published the Proceedings of last sixth Symposia (2002-2012). In 2012 American Nova Science Publisher released a book of essays Echoes from Georgia: Seventeen Arguments on Georgian Polyphony prepared by the Centre.
THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR GEORGIAN FOLK SONG
The Centre was founded in 2001 on the initiative of Mr. Anzor Erkomaishvili.
It undertakes versatile practical activities and has already carried out many useful projects, including: preservation of Georgian folk songs by the creation of new archives based on collecting and restoration of audio recordings, film and video materials, as well as other related materials, wherever they exist in the archives in Georgia or abroad.
It created suitable conditions for masters of Georgian folk song in ten regions of Georgia to pursue their art, and to instruct students through special schools to become masters for future generations; to record and document old performing traditions by using new audio and video equipment.
One of the most important spheres of the Centre’s activities is transcription of archival recordings, creation of musical scores for publication in anthologies and issue of compact discs. Publication of the series of Centenary Anthology /1901-2001/ has already started.
The Centre has established wide international contacts with Georgian folk ensembles, associations, sound archives, libraries and centres of study. It holds folk concerts, festivals and contests with the participation of authentic groups, family ensembles and individual performers. The Center was involved in the realization of UNESCO’s three-year (2003-2006) program for the Safeguarding and Promotion of Georgian Traditional Polyphony.
It promotes holding of scientific conferences and symposiums on the most important problems of Georgian folk song.
Since 2003 the Centre has published about 30 transcribed collections, audio materials (including those with separate voice parts of the well-known Georgian folk singers), scientific and reference books. The most noteworthy of these are: The First Sound Recordings of Georgian Folk Song (1901-1914), Georgian Audio Recordings Abroad (a catalogue), series – Masters of Georgian Folk Song: Samegrelo (5 books), Guria (4 books),
Traditional Music in Georgian-Abkhazian Dialogue and others.
STATE FOLKLORE CENTRE OF GEORGIA
State Folklore Centre of Georgia (former House of Folk Art and Scientific – Methodological Centre of Folk Art) was founded in 1936 on the initiative of Ivane Javakhishvili, Vakhtang Kotetishvili, Dimitri Araqishvili, Varlam Topuria, Grigol Chkhikvadze, Tamar Mamaladze and others. At various times the Centre was headed by Mikheil Mgaloblishvili, Grigol Kokeladze, Valerain Tsagareishvili, Mikheil Chirinahsvili, Revaz Kereselidze, Tsisana Kochechashvili, Giorgi Ushikishvili. Current executive Director is Giorgi Donadze.
Since the day of its inception the Centre has immutable priorities: seek for, study and popularize the examples of various branches of folk art; observe live folk processes in Georgia’s mode of life; revive and publish vanished folk genres and examples; worldwide popularization of Georgian folklore and its inclusion in world cultural processes. Unique archive has been created at the Centre during years, where preserved are: notation manuscripts of Georgian folk songs and church hymns; rich oral, photo and documentary material; interesting works on choreology and ethnomusicology, currently old archival materials are included in the digital information base of the Folk Centre; in the past years it was supplemented with rich expedition, audio, photo, video and documentary material, created was the chronicle of the Centre’s activity…
State Folk Centre carries out fruitful publishing activity – during the last years about 20 audio and video albums, four monographs, 5 scores of Georgian chants, anthologies of choreology, collection of Khevi folk poetry, folk dictionary and three short documentary films were issued. For the better preservation of Georgian folklore the Centre has started creation of its regional network.