Georgia Hosts International Music Project ‘Made in Georgia’

The Netherlands Wind Ensemble (NBE), an orchestra of Dutch musicians, offering a rich repertoire of various genres and original interpretations, presented their international project ‘Made in…’ in Georgia, with concerts performed in the Tbilisi State Conservatoire, at Vake Park Tbilisi, at Lopota Lake resort and in Telavi theater on May 25-28.

NBE collaborates with performers worldwide, constantly introducing new programs to music lovers. With their international project Made in Georgia, they united Georgian musicians Niaz Diasamidze, Levan Tskhadadze, the Gori Women’s Choir, Anchiskhati Choir and folklore ensemble Adilei, to perform a unique concert program in Georgia.

“Georgia is celebrating the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Georgia and many countries and one of the occasions to celebrate this jubilee is this visit,” Jos Douma, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Georgia, told the audience. “The state did not organize this, nor the embassy; it was the NBE and their Georgian friends. We believe in synergy; working together in order to have better projects, we do so in business, in culture, in political relations, we do so in social cooperation, and in cooperation between the peoples of the Netherlands and Georgia”.

TBC is one of the supporters of the project. “There are many reasons as to why this project is important for us at TBC Bank,” said Tamar Kirvalidze, Media and External Relations Director, TBC Bank. “First of all, the project is called Made in Georgia, and exports Georgian culture abroad which is crucial for our country. NBE is a top ensemble, and we’re always eager to support such wonderful projects”.

NBE will be producing a documentary feature special about their tour in Georgia, to premiere in the Netherlands this autumn. A concert tour from October 5 to October 19 is planned in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Hague and other cities, with Georgian musicians and performers participating together with NBE.

Levan Tskhadadze, one of the organizers of the project, said the idea of bringing musicians from Georgia and Netherlands was born a year and a half ago, presenting a mixture of classic, folk and popular music genres. “The concerts are already sold out,” he told us.

“We are together because we like to play together - this is a group of friends, of great players,” Bart Schneemann, oboist and NBE Artistic Director said. “We are always interested in combining classical music with other world styles. We try to make programs that combine great classical music with great music that, for example, comes from Georgia. We thought it would be wonderful to come to Georgia and find musicians in the country to play the music with. We’ve listened to polyphonic singing, the music from east and west Georgia, and the music from Tbilisi, and that was something that interested us very much.”

The Netherlands Wind Ensemble was founded in 1961. Schneemann becamse its artistic director in 1988 and has since played a key role in transforming the orchestra, bringing diversity and a multicultural dimension to their programs. Apart from concerts, NBE runs educational programs assisting young and emerging talents towards success.

The Embassy of Kingdom of Netherlands to Georgia, Ministry of Culture of Georgia, Grove Design Hotel, Georgia to See Magazine and Lopota Lake resort are also the partners of the Netherlands Wind Ensemble’s ‘Made in Georgia’ project.

Nino Gugunishvili