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- This school year the foundation is supporting a young violinist Michael Pantskhava. Information under scholarship holders.
- Young Clarinetist Marita Pataraia from Tbilisi took part in the Masterclass with Prof. Pascal Moragues in Lissabon in August 2024. The fondation coverd the travel costs.
- Scholarship holder Avtandil Vartagava won 1st Prize in his category at the Zurich meets Kharkov piano competition in February 2024. The foundation coverd travel, accommodation and food costs.
School year 2024/2025
New: Mikheil Pantskhava from Tbilisi was born in 2005. He started playing the violin at the age of 7. He is currently in the last year of the music high school in the class of Maia Chabukiani. Michael has already performed with the Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra. The video of this concert can be seen below. He loves music by Wieniawski, Chopin and Richard Strauss. In his free time he likes to paint and draw.
Max Bruch 1. Movement from the Violin Concerto Nr.1: Watch
Keti Zariashvili from Samtredia (Imereti) was born in 2007. She has been a scholarship holder of the foundation since 2021. Keti was very ill at the beginning of the last school year and had to undergo spinal surgery. Fortunately, she was able to recover quickly and play the piano again from winter 2024. She played solo and chamber music concerts in April 2024. A video of a chamber music concert can be seen below.
Keti is currently in the last year of the music high school in Esma Kiria's piano class. She is preparing for the entrance exams at the Tbilisi Music Academy.
C.M. Weber Grand Duo concertant for clarinet and piano: Watch
Barbare Gagloshvili from Borjomi (Samtskhe-Javakheti) was born in 2008. She has been a scholarship holder of the foundation since 2021. Barbare is still very hard-working, she has rehearsed many new pieces in the last school year and played in various concerts, including the Rondo by W.A. Mozart with a teacher orchestra. She is currently in the 9th grade at the music high school in the class of Nutsa Kasradze.
S. Rachmaninov Etude: Watch
W.A. Mozart Rondo for piano and orchestra: Watch
Atato (Avtandil) Vartagava from Tbilisi was born in 2010. He has been a scholarship holder of the foundation since 2021. Avtandil continues to be very successful. He won 1st prize at the Volodymyr Krainev Piano Competition in February 2024. In May 2024, Atato played the finale from the Piano Concerto No. 2 by Camille Saint-Saens in the large concert hall of the music academy accompanied by the symphony orchestra. A video of this can be seen below. Avtandil is currently in the 8th grade in Esma Kiria's piano class.
Camille Saint-Saens Finale from the Piano Concerto Nr.2: Watch
Giorgi Baliashvili from Gori (Kartli) was born in 2005. He has been a scholarship holder of the foundation since 2021. Giorgi will finish music high school in summer 2025 and start studying piano at the music academy in Tbilisi. He is currently in Mamuka Sikharulidze's piano class. In recent years Giorgi has become increasingly interested in chamber music. A current recording will follow.
In the summer of 2021, I set up the Konstantin Vardeli Foundation in memory of my late violinist father. Its aim is to provide financial support to young Georgian musicians from families in need. There are currently five youngsters receiving the foundation's monthly scholarships.
Education in Georgia, especially music teaching, is heavily skewed towards the capital, Tbilisi, where there are two good-quality music schools. They cater for gifted students and have some excellent teachers. Their infrastructure is decent by Georgian standards.
In contrast, facilities outside the capital, especially in remote regions, are generally poor, so the most gifted local pupils are often advised to transfer to the Zacharia Paliashvili Central Music School (formerly, the Music High School) in Tbilisi if at all possible.
I myself attended this school for seven years and know first-hand that standards there are much higher than in the regions. That is why I decided that the foundation would support needy pupils from that particular school. There are currently four girls and two boys from the regions of Kakheti, Kartli and Imereti, as well as one boy from Tbilisi receiving the foundation's scholarships, which mainly cover their travel costs.
These scholarships are partly funded with my performance fees, but mainly with donations. There are two models for donations: "natlia" (godmother/godfather) and "saerto" (for all).
Under the "natlia" model, you can choose a specific pupil from the list below and support him or her with an annual contribution of between CHF500 and CHF1000. This sum is then paid directly to your chosen pupil as a monthly scholarship during the school year. Each recipient is paid the equivalent of CHF100 a month during the 10-month school year. So, for example, if you choose to donate CHF500, the other half will be paid from the foundation's reserve fund.
Under the "saerto" model, your donation will go into the reserve fund.
During the selection of the scholarship recipients (portraits and shots find below), I met them all personally, talked to them and listened to their performance. I follow their progress and keep in constant contact with their teachers. Recordings from concerts and competitions are sent to me regularly.
Become a "natlia" or donate to all of them!
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me here.
Thank you.
Irina Vardeli
For bank details please see the german version.
- Scholarship holder Avtandil Vartagava won 1st prize at the Arno Babadjanian Piano Competition in Yerevan in July 2023. A recording can be found below, in the detailed information on the current scholarship holders.
- The scholarship holder Nino Kasrelishvili was invited to Kazakhstan to take part in the Music Festival in Almaty. The concerts took place in October 2023. A recording can be found below, in the detailed information on the current scholarship holders.
- At the National Competition in Tbilisi end of April 2023, the Konstantin Vardeli Foundation has awarded a prize for best contestant in the String section. The 19-year-old violinist Marina Getia received this award, together with an amount of 1000 GEL. She is at present studying near the end of her first Batchelor year at the Tbilisi Conservatory.
The following video is a recording of Marina Getia's performance at the competitions final concert.
Marina Getia, violin
Teona Mikeladze, piano
Vaja Azarashvili Scherzo
School year 2023/2024
Nino Kasrelishvili, born 2004, is from Gurjaani, Kakheti region. She has been a scholarship holder of the foundation since 2021. In summer 2024, she will graduate from music high school and start studying piano. It remains to be seen whether she will study at the conservatory in Tbilisi or abroad. Nino was invited to the music festival in Almaty in Kazakhstan last autumn.
Here there is the recording of Rondo Toccata by Georgian composer Rezo Lagidze from this concert: Watch
Keti Zariashvili, born 2007, is from Samtredia, Imereti region. She has been a scholarship holder of the foundation since 2021. Keti was very successful in the last school year, learnt many new pieces, played many concerts, including Robert Schumann's piano concerto in June 2023. Last August, however, Keti had to undergo a serious operation on her spine and was unable to play the piano for three months. Now she can practise again. Here is a recording from December 2023.
Claude Debussy Feux d`Artifice: Watch
Robert Schumann Klavierkonzert a-Moll 1. Satz: Watch
Barbare Gagloshvili from Borjomi (Samtskhe-Javakheti) was born in 2008. She is a scholarship holder of the foundation since 2021. Barbare is very diligent, she has learnt several new pieces and played at various concerts in Tbilisi. She also won a prize at the online WNYLE Piano Competition. Here is a recording from the competition program.
Frédéric Chopin Ballade No.1: watch
Atato (Avtandil) Vartagava from Tbilisi was born in 2010. He has been a scholarship holder of the foundation since 2021. Avtandil is very successful. He won 1st prize at the Arno Babadjanian Piano Competition in Yerevan in July 2023. Avtandil learns very quickly and is extremely productive. The following recording is a television recording during a program on Georgian television. Franz Liszt Tarantella: Watch
And here Waldesrauschen by Franz Liszt and a Waltz by Frédéric Chopin: Watch
Impromptus by Arno Babadshanjan: Watch
Giorgi Baliashvili from Gori (Kartli) was born in 2005. He has been a scholarship holder of the foundation since 2021. Giorgi will graduate from music high school in summer 2024 and start studying piano at the Tbilisi State Conservatory. Giorgi is very committed and is also increasingly playing chamber music. In the following recordings from November 2023, he plays Etude op.8 No.12 by Aleksander Skriabin in a concert in the big hall of the Tbilisi Conservatory and Cantabile and Presto by George Enescu for flute and piano in the recital hall of the Conservatory.
Watch Skriabin
Watch Enescu
School year 2022/2023
Nino Kasrelishvili from the Gurjaani region (Kakheti) was born in 2004. She has been a scholarship holder of the foundation since 2021. She will graduate from music high school in summer 2024. Nino won the piano competition in Almaty in 2022.
Franz Liszt Klavierkonzert Nr. 2 watch
J.S. Bach Präludium und Fuge D-Dur watch
Keti Zariashvili from Samtredia (Imereti) was born in 2007. She has been a scholarship holder of the foundation since 2021. In June 2023, she played Robert Schumann`s piano concerto accompanied by the symphony orchestra.
J.S. Bach Präludium und Fuge es-Moll watch
Frédéric Chopin Etude op.10 Nr. 8 watch
Barbare Gagloshvili from Borjomi (Samtskhe-Javakheti) was born in 2008. She has been a scholarship holder of the foundation since 2021. Barbare learnt many new works this school year and played at various concerts in Tbilisi.
Frédéric Chopin Etude Nr. 1 op.25 watch
Meri Davitashvili Chorumi watch
Atato (Avtandil) Vartagava from Tbilisi was born in 2010. He has been a scholarship holder of the foundation since 2021. Avtandil is very successful. He won 1st prize at the Arno Babadjanian Piano Competition in Yerevan in July 2023.
Felix Mendelssohn Rondo capriccioso watch
J.S. Bach Präludium und Fuge h-Moll watch
Giorgi Baliashvili from Gori (Kartli) was born in 2005. He has been a scholarship holder of the foundation since 2021. Giorgi will graduate from music high school in summer 2024.
Nodar Gabunia Imptovisation und Toccata watch
Domenico Scarlatti Sonate D-Dur und J.S. Bach Präludium und Fuge b-Moll watch
School year 2021/2022
Keti Chkadua, born 2005, is from Telavi, Kakheti region. She plays flute and piano equally well and is yet to choose her main instrument. Her favourite composer is Chopin. Photography is her hobby. Keti travels to Tbilisi twice a week for her flute, piano and theory lessons. In this recording, she plays the 2nd movement of the Flute Sonata by the 20-century Georgian composer Otar Taktakishvili.
Nino Kasrelishvili, born 2004, is from Gurjaani, Kakheti region. She has played piano since she was 7. She travels to Tbilisi for her lessons twice a week. Nino's favourite composer is Liszt. In her free time, she enjoys reading. In this recording, Nino plays Liszt's Rhapsody No 10.
Keti Zariashvili, born 2007, is from Samtredia, Imereti region. She started taking piano lessons at the age of 7. Samtredia is quite far from Tbilisi, so Keti and her family decided that she would move to Tbilisi with her grandmother. They are renting a small room near the school. Keti paints in her spare time and writes stories and poems. In this recording, she plays Liszt's Rigoletto Paraphrase.
Barbare Gagloshvili, born 2008, is from Borjomi, Samtskhe-Javakheti region. She started playing piano at the age of 6. In the past two years, she has been living with her grandmother in Tbilisi. Barbare likes listening to music in her spare time. Her favourite composer is Chopin. In this recording, she plays Chopin's Etude Op. 25, No 1.
Atato (Avtandil) Vartagava, born 2010, is from Tbilisi. He has played piano since he was 5. Atato loves Liszt. In his free time, he paints and makes papier-mâché. In this recording, he plays Rachmaninoff's Études-Tableaux Op. 33.
Giorgi Baliashvili, born 2005, is from Gori, Kartli region. He was 8 when he started taking piano lessons. For the past three years, he has been travelling to Tbilisi twice a week to attend classes at the Central Music School. Giorgi's hobby is hiking. His favourite composer is Chopin. In this recording, he plays Wagner-Liszt's Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde.
Otar Chkadua, born 2007, is from Telavi, Kakheti region. He started playing the recorder when he was 6 and switched to flute at the age of 11. He travels to Tbilisi for his lessons twice a week. Otar enjoys reading in his spare time. His favourite composer is Bach. In this recording, he plays Allegretto from Suite de trois morceaux by Benjamin Godard.
BANK DETAILS
For donations in Swiss francs of CHF300 or more, click here
Please mention "Konstantin Vardeli Foundation" in the subject field.
This is a tax-free account, and you will receive confirmation of the tax deduction.
For donations in Swiss francs of less than CHF300 francs, click here
For donations in euros, click here
For donations in USD, click here
For donations in Georgian lari, click here
In the subject field, please enter either "natlia" and the name of the donation recipient, or "saerto" if you wish to donate to the general fund.
Thank you!