The Georgian Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, Thea Tsulukiani continues to work to eliminate the shortage of instruments at Tbilisi’s Vano Sarajishvili State Conservatory.
The Ministry of Culture started cooperation with STEINWAY & SONS in 2021, and it has already received the fifth batch of royals. Out of 78 royals to be delivered, 47 have already been received.
The conservatory has been awarded ten royals, planned to be delivered in 2024. Eight royals will be housed in the conservatory’s classrooms, one in the chamber hall and one in the opera studio.
All royals received from 2022 are already in auditoriums, where they have been assembled, operated and inspected by professional engineers at the company.
Tool shortages have been a significant problem for the state conservatory for years. Georgian Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth Thea Tsulukiani announced the necessity of his surname in 2021 and started active negotiations with the company “Steinway”.
The contribution of Georgian-American pianist and composer famous artist Giorgi Lazo is remarkable. He significantly contributed to the start of negotiations between the Ministry and Steinway.
As a result of fruitful negotiations, with the help of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia, the Ministry of Culture signed a several-year state procurement contract with a world-renowned manufacturer.
According to the document, from 2022 to the end of 2025, the conservatory will gradually receive 78 royals, for which 8,012 636 euros were allocated.
In 2022, Georgia received 17 royals; in 2023-25, it will receive 61 royals. In 2023, the conservatory received 30 royals: in June – seven, October – 13, and November – 10.
On September 15 of this year, Georgian Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth Thea Tsulukiani met with the leaders of “Steinway and Sanz” at the State Conservatory named after Vano Sarajishvili in Tbilisi. The work meeting discussed the Royals’ import procedures and future supply issues for 2024.
During negotiations with representatives of “Steinway”, the minister once again raised the issue of the company training Georgian piano equipment specialists. In Hamburg, at the “Steinway” factory, they should undergo training courses with the ministry’s funding to preserve this large fund of instruments properly.
The Tbilisi State Conservatory, named after Vano Sarajishvili, announced a selection competition to train piano engineers in Hamburg, whose activities will be financed by the company “Steinway and Sanz”.
It is worth noting that this acquisition of the company “Steinway”, with many years of history throughout Europe, is considered unprecedented.
Thea Tsulukiani met with company president Gido Zimmerman and regional director Anton Wilhelm. The minister reviewed STEINWAY & SONS royals factory and eight royals destined for Georgia, which will be shipped from Hamburg on November 25.
Sadly, more musical instruments are needed not only for conservatories but also for other arts schools.
Tools are in particular need of the Tbilisi Central Music School, named after Evgeny Mikeladze, where musical instruments were last bought in the 70s; the Gori Music College (the college hasn’t purchased a new device since 1971); the Rustavi Music School (the instruments haven’t been renewed since 60s) and several other educational institutions A hundred.
With the help of the state, in October 2021, for the first time in the last 50 years, the instrument base was renewed in the Central Music School named after Zakaria Paliashvili – “Decade of Talents”.
The Ministry of Culture has purchased brand new, high-quality musical instruments for the school: Royal STEINWAY & SONS (Essex Piano), flute, trumpet, trombone, classical guitar, percussion instruments, xylophone and voltorna; however, a shortage of tools in the “decade of talent” remains a real problem.
