Masterclass Held for People with Disabilities Within the Framework of Festival Night Serenades
By Khatia Bzhalava
Thursday, November 4
Various field masterclasses, as well as concerts, are being held within the framework of this year’s Batumi-Tbilisi International Festival ‘Night Serenades’. The masterclasses that last for a month are led by famous musicians and composers – Maestro Vakhtang Matchavariani, George Shaverzashvili, Nino Khutsishvili (Holland), Mario Stefano Pietrodarchi (Italy), Sabine Grofmeier (Germany).
On November 2, artist-designer Nino Mirianashvili delivered a collage technique masterclass to the beneficiaries of The Union ‘Parents’ Bridge’. The Union was established at the initiative of parents of children with disabilities, professionals, and psychologists and aims at developing the skills necessary for inclusion in children and adolescents with disabilities.
According to Nina Tsagareli, the director of the Night Serenades Festival, the master class was held with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Youth of Georgia. Tsagareli expressed special gratitude to the participants of the workshop.
During the master class, the beneficiaries were able to explore new technologies and work with different materials.
The international festival Night Serenades was founded in 1982 in Georgia’s north-western region of Abkhazia by renowned Georgian violinist and conductor Liana Issakadze. The festival was taking place annually in Bichvinta and was visited by renowned musicians from the Soviet Union as well as from abroad, including Alfred Schnittke, Kurt Masur, Gidon Kremer, and others.
In 1991, following the armed conflict, the festival stopped existing, however, 18 years later, in 2009, Night Serenades was brought back to the Georgian seaside town of Batumi, continuing the traditions of Bichvinta’s Festival. Due to the wide popularity of the festival throughout the years, Tbilisi City Council decided in 2015 to change its name to Batumi-Tbilisi International Festival.
The basic team of the Festival is the chamber orchestra ‘Virtuosi’, founded by Liana Issakadze in 2011. The orchestra is staffed with talented young Georgian musicians working abroad and in Georgia.
The artistic director of the festival is Giorgi Issakadze, musician, teacher and the founder and the artistic director of dance and music academies in Ingolstadt and Munich, the chief conductor is Maestro Vakhtang Matchavariani, and the director of the festival is Nina Tsagareli.
The event is organized by the company ‘Art Alliance.’
The festival Night Serenades is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth of Georgia, Tbilisi and Batumi city halls, Ministry of Culture, Education and Sports of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, and embassies of Italy and Germany.
The official insurer of the festival is the company ‘Ardi.’
