Oct 3 | 20:00

David Mukeria

David Mukeria studied conducting under the guidance of a famous conductor Odysseas Dimitriadis. In 1988, he was appointed as music director and chief conductor of the Batumi Symphony orchestra. During the years 1993-2004, Mukeria was a chief conductor and art director of Batumi Opera House. Nowadays, he is a conductor of the Tbilisi State Opera and Ballet Theatre, and a chief conductor and artistic director of the Batumi State Music Centre Symphony Orchestra. In 2012, David Mukeria organized “Batumi Summer International Festival” in which took part famous musicians such as: Elisso Bolkvadze, Ariel Zuckermann, Francesco Mariozzi and Giovani Roselli.

He has collaborated with famous musicians such as: Mstislav Rostropovich,  Liana Isakadze, Joseph Bardanashvili,  Eliso Virsaladze, Alexander Korsantia, Elene Obraztsova, Giorgi Gagnidze, Ketevan Kemoklidze, Shalva Mukeria, Lado Ataneli, Nino Ananiashvili, Paata Burchuladze, Tamar-Iano Alibegashvili, Eter Anjaparidze, Kaludi Kaludov, Alessandra Marc and many others.

In Jerusalem, on May 23 2023, with the support of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Adjara and the Embassy of Georgia in Israel, David Mukeria, together with the Batumi State Music Centre Symphony Orchestra, held a concert dedicated to the Independence Day of Georgia.

He has performances in Italy, Israel, Japan, Turkey, Belarus, Estonia, North Macedonia, and in other European countries.

David Mukeria has been cooperating with “Batumi Black Sea Music and Art Festival” since its foundation and during these 10 years, within the framework of the festival he has held many important concerts.

Elisso Bolkvadze

Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, in the family of poets and writers, Elisso Bolkvadze began her musical study at the early age of four and performed her first concert with orchestra at the age ofseven. She’s a musician with numerous talents with an outstanding sensibility and brilliant virtuosity. As described by legendary Maestro Zubin Mehta, she is a pianist with a “complete control over the instrument”. 

A superstar in her country of birth, prize winner of many international piano world competitions, Elisso Bolkvadze was awarded with “The Medal of Georgian Government” – one of the most prestigious national honors. 

Bolkvadze is actively engaged in charity actions in order to help young talents and founded Charity Foundation “Lyra” in 2013, in her homeland Georgia. 

Her concert highlights have included performances with: Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Santa Fe Festival Orchestra, Lithuanian National Orchestra, National Philharmonic of Ukraine and Lviv, Innsbruck Symphony Orchestra, The Gewandhaus Orchestra, France National Orchestra, Arkansas and Dallas Symphony Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Krakow Philharmonic, Orchestre Colonne, United Nations Symphony Orchestra, Georgian Opera State Orchestra, Qatar Philharmonic, Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, Bach Orchestra Berlin, Liszt Chamber Orchestra Budapest. She also regularly tours with recital concerts in Asia, America and Europe, playing Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Debussy, Prokofiev and Chopin. On October 4th 2016, she received a special title « Richard Sheppard Arnold Artist of Distinction » and performed for the season opening in Maumelle Performing Art Center in USA with Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in a prestigious series of concerts in Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, USA.

She recorded several albums for Sony BMG and Cascavelle Lable, performing piano concertos by Beethoven, Rachmaninoff and Liszt. 

In 2015 Bolkvadze released an album “Prokofiev, Schubert” with Lable Audite that had a great critical acclaim and granted the title « Pianist Maestro ». 

As an artist actively engaged in cultural and human rights actions, Elisso Bolkvadze gave a charity concert in March 2014 at Victoria Hall Geneva, she played Saint-Saens piano concerto N2 with the United Nations Orchestra for supporting Georgian children that have suffered from war. As well as series of charity concerts in Georgia in order to help individual patients and children affected by cancer. 

Elisso Bolkvadze performed a recital concert “Piano for Peace” at Nobel Prize World Summit in Warsaw, in 2013 in presence of Sharon Stone. 

She participated in March of 2017 with Angelina Jolie in a conference organized by United Nations General Assembly in Geneva. 

For her outstanding contribution to the development of culture and personal commitment to cultural exchanges between France and Georgia, Elisso Bolkvadze received the distinction of Chevalier des Arts et Lettres by French Republic. 

The Georgian artist has established herself as a vivid cultural heritage protector and became UNESCO Artist for Peace in 2015. 

On 21st of September 2018, Giorgi Margvelashvili, President of Georgia has awarded Order of Honor to Elisso Bolkvadze, for promoting Georgian culture and creative activities. 

In 2020 Bolkvadze became MP at the Parliament of Georgia.  

On 18th of March 2021, Elisso Bolkvadze has been appointed as the chairperson of newly  created Culture Committee at the Parliament of Georgia.

Alexander Bedenko

Gramophone Magazine—“Timbrally, the performances are ravishing. Bedenko’s tone is the most luxurious velvet,”

The multi award-winning, Ukrainian-born American clarinetist Alexander Bedenko has appeared in recitals at Carnegie’sWeill Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art,Steinway Hall, Kennedy Center in Washington,D.C and UNESCO in Paris.

 Graduated from the prestigious The Curtis Institute of Music, Alexander Bedenko collaborated with artists such as Vladimir Spivakov, Christoph Eschenbach, Nikolai Lugansky, Kirill Gernstein, Daniel Hope, Nabuko Imai, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Gautier Capucon and with the Borodin, Jerusalem, Alma, Ariel, Endellion and Orion string quartets.

Solo appearances include Chamber Orchestra, Romanian, Uzbekistan and Ukraine National Symphony Orchestras, Texarkana Symphony and chamber music concerts at the Colmar, Verbier, Spoleto, Malta, Mozaic and Schubertiade festivals. 

In 2019, Alexander Bedenko released his acclaimed debut album on Orchid classics with Kyril Zlotnikov and Itamar Golan as well as “Finding Home” album on Sony classics in March 2022. 

In 2021, Muzyka Edition has published worldwide Alexander Bedenko’s transcriptions of Tchaikovsky “Album of pieces” for clarinet and piano.

A former Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra principal clarinetist, Alexander Bedenko was invited by Riccardo Muti as guest principal clarinetist for a Chicago Symphony Orchestra European tour and has performed as guest principal with the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra ,The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst. 

Alexander Bedenko is a SelmerParis and D’Addario woodwinds Artist. —