Planina's 2023 Study Trip to the Country of Georgia
Planina is excited to be planning a group trip for July 2023 to study music in the country of Georgia, situated at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Over the years the group has made three group trips to Bulgaria, the most recent one in 2018. Each time we have returned with new treasured songs, amazing memories, increased cohesion as a group, and better performing skills.
Why Georgia?
We have chosen Georgia this time because Georgian polyphony is beautiful, unusual, and regionally varied; in fact, UNESCO has recognized Georgian polyphonic singing as a unique phenomenon in world culture, placing it on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The tradition of singing together permeates the music of the country and old folkloric traditions have persisted there longer than in many other countries. Planina has included some Georgian songs in its repertoire since 2002 and finds this music particularly compelling; we want to understand the tradition better
Group members who have traveled to Georgia in the past have had amazing experiences of Georgian hospitality, food, and, of course, music. Best of all, we have contacts on the ground there who are lining us up to study with master singers in the capital city, Tbilisi, and travel to work with singers in two other folkloric regions.
The Study Program
Members of Planina will take a variety of routes to Georgia in early July. We will assemble in the capital, Tbilisi, then travel together to the Kakheti region in Eastern Georgia, an area known for a particular style of polyphony (multiple melodic lines) sung against a bass background. There we will study with master singers. Returning to Tbilisi, we will study with other singers there for a few days. then we will travel to Racha, a mountainous region in western Georgia. The style of singing there is typically three-voiced. Finally we will return to Tbilisi to celebrate the end of the group journey. From there, the participants will depart for home or further travels on their own.
Trip Organizers
The organization helping us plan the trip is the Ukrainian Institute of Language and Culture Studies: NovaMova. They started working with us in January 2023, using the few short hours of electricity and internet they could access on a sporadic basis from Kyiv, Ukraine, together with their partners in Georgia. We are deeply thankful for the work of those impacted by war who tirelessly helped put things in place while experiencing the profound limitations and consequences of war. A portion of the funds we raise for the trip will be gifted directly to the faculty of the institute who are currently residing and working in Georgia, to help offer some relief to those forced out of Ukraine due to ongoing war.
Can you help us?
Although the in-country costs are low compared to those in some other countries we’d like to study in, they are still significant for us, and costs to travel overseas are considerable.
At a time when there is so much need in the world, it is awkward to ask for funds for a venture of this nature when we ourselves have homes and enough to eat. Yet, as our friends and fans know, we are serious about learning traditional music and presenting it authentically to our audiences, and we need help to make this trip a reality. Therefore, we are hosting a fundraising concert on June 3 at 7:30: Beautiful as the Full Moon – An Evening of Songs from Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. It will be held at First Baptist Church of Denver, 1373 Grant St, Denver, CO 80203.
We hope you can join us at the concert! If you can’t, please consider making a donation at our GoFundMe page. A generous donor has offered to match the first $5,000 of funds collected. Please consider making a small donation to help us unlock that extraordinary gift. No amount is too small!