27th International Sacred Music Festival. Georgian State Choir

The State Choir LATVIJA and Artistic Director Māris Sirmais invite audiences during the second half of August and the start of September to the 27th International Sacred Music Festival, the most extensive Latvian sacred music event of the year.

The Georgian State Choir was founded in 1947, and since the beginning it has had links with Latvia: it was led in its second decade by Jānis Dūmiņš, Latvian Song Festival Chief Conductor, Artistic Director of the State Choir LATVIA (1953 to 1960), and professor at the Latvian Conservatory and Tbilisi State Conservatoire. The choir’s current conductor, Archil Ushveridze, has led the Georgian State Choir since 2005, and works at the Tbilisi State Conservatoire teaching students of choir conducting. The concert programme richly represents the path of the Georgian choral tradition from ancient times to today, touching on the national collection of Orthodox pieces, the beginnings of professional Georgian music (Zakaria Paliashvili, Niko Sulkhanishvili), and the multifaceted works of late 20th century and 21st century composers (Tamara Salukvadze, Rusudan Khorava, Joseph Kechakmadze, Vakhtang Kakhidze, Merab Partskhaladze, Merab Gangnidze, Nodar Mamisashvili).