2006 Summer Camps
Caucasus Georgia Residential Session
September 30-October 14
Ketevan Mindorashvili, Teah Pirtskhelani, Shergil Pirtskhelani, Patty Cuyler
This will be Village Harmony’s seventh singing workshop in the Republic of Georgia. Set in a small mountainous country with one of the world’s most exciting polyphonic singing traditions, our music exchanges with Georgian singers, like this coming camp, will arguably prove to be Village Harmony’s most important and lasting contribution to the understanding between world cultures.
The two-week long residential camp will be held in Sighnaghi, Kakheti, a historic walled hill-town with a breathtaking view of the Alazani Valley and the Caucasus Mountains about two hours’ drive east of Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital. Rehearsal will take place in the historic center of town, amidst winding cobbled streets and hillsides flecked with persimmon, walnut and pomegranate trees.
Participants will work on tuning, ornamentation and vocal projection under the instruction of Ensemble Zedashe director Ketevan Mindorashvili and other members of the ensemble. We will study folk and sacred songs from the different Georgian regions, with most music taught by ear. Folk dancing and instrumental instruction will also be offered. Singers will be housed with local host families.
During the workshop there will be time to explore our host village and we will take group outings to monasteries and other historic sites. Taking place as it is during the wine-making season, we will likely visit a vineyard to help with the grape harvest and sample new wines.
This session is not for those needing a daily hot shower. A decade and a half of post-Soviet economic depression has taken its toll on the country, and western-style amenities—such as hot water (or running water at all) and electricity are sporadic. While smooth roads, indoor plumbing and working lights may be in short supply, however, Georgia’s famed hospitality is a constant—and is unforgettable.
Rehearsal center and homestays in Sighnaghi, Georgia
$1000
We have an online photo-album from the 2003 trip to Georgia.
Sighnaghi, Republic of Georgia
A medieval fort-town and 19th-centurry administrative center, Sighnaghi is a beautiful and deceptively quiet hill-town perched at the edge of the lower Caucasus mountains in eastern Georgia that is in fact a hot-bed of cultural activity, home to ancient Bodbe Monastery, an adjunct campus of Tbilisi University, its own music college, and a dance school, as well being as a refuge for artists and artisans of all sorts. We will use Village Harmony’s own ‘retreat center’ in Sighnaghi (Patty has owned a house here since 2001) for rehearsals, and will take meals at the home of one the Zedashe singers. Participants have the option of being housed with local families.