Lyra Foundation Organizes 3rd Batumi Music Fest

On September 10-15, 2015 beautiful classical harmonies will fill the streets of Batumi City, as world-famous Georgian pianist Elisso Bolkvadze’s charitable music foundation Lyra brings back the annual Batumi Music Fest for the third time.

This year numerous well-known musicians from all over the globe are set to take to the stage at the event, including Laurent Petitgirard (conductor, France), Victoria Hirschhuber (pianist, Austria), Dmitry Yablonsky (conductor, USA), Ilya Konovalov (violinist, Israel), Michi Sugiura (violinist, Japan) and many more.

The grand finale, which will celebrate the 70th anniversary of UNESCO, will take place on September 15 at the Batumi Piazza, where Elisso Bolkvadze herself will play. The concluding event is also set to include famous Georgian tenor, Zurab Sotkilava and the Tbilisi Opera State Symphony Orchestra. To add diversity and surprise the audience, the organizers have decided to add Georgian folk music group “Kartuli Khmebi” (Georgian Voices) to the line-up. The ensemble will perform various traditional folk songs at finale as well.

Elisso Bolkvadze was named UNESCO Artist for Peace on January 22, 2015, thus enabling her to conduct numerous events under the auspices of the organization. The money raised from the concert will be transferred to the UNESCO-led welfare program fund that finances the educational programs for war-affected children in Syria.

Batumi Music Fest is now the official member of the European Festival Association (EFA), alongside the BBC Prom, Edinburgh Festival and numerous other events from over 40 countries. And apart from having a charitable cause, it will also serve an educational purpose, as many master classes are going to be conducted within the framework of the event, and on September 14, young musical talents will perform at a gala concert during which special prizes will be awarded to the audience favorites.

The 2015 Batumi Music Fest is held in association with the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia, the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, the French Institute in Georgia and the French, Turkish and Azerbaijani Embassies. The event will conclude the “Heat Batumi Program” which was conducted by the Ministry of Culture for three months during the summer season.

Beqa Kirtava