Tamar Buadze Part 1

Voices of Our Grandmothers with guest Tamar Buadze and interpreter Zoé Perret. Kicking off series 2, innovative choir conductor Tamar Buadze tells the surprising tale of how she came to work with Laz songs, while living in Rustavi (far, far away from Laz regions in Georgia and Turkey). One of her former students tells us what it was like to grow up in a folk choir, and tells us (one version of) the story behind the Abkhazian song Varado. But best of all Tamar shares with us the tone-bending voice of her Megrelian grandmother. Tamar graduated from Tbilisi State Conservatory and is the head of Rustavi Music school. She leads Tutarchela women and youth choirs (https://www.facebook.com/tutarchelachoir), who participate in a number of prestigious European festivals, as well as many other groups. Across her various choirs, she teaches around 250 people a week! As well as leading outdoor open-access singing workshops (ground-breaking for her native Georgia), she teaches for the International Singing Project ‘ChorOnline’, and has taught American women’s ensemble Kitka. Tamar’s approach to teaching folklore is holistic, incorporating games and dances into the music. Her student Ninutsa says “all the appreciation, taste of music, anything connected to music for me comes from Tamar. Not only about music, but - she really raised us.’ She has brought European techniques such as the Kodály method to her adult and youth choirs in Georgia. Her arrangements of Laz songs can be found in ‘Songbook Georgia’, which focuses on the female repertoire of traditional folk songs: https://www.amazon.com/Songbook-Georgia-Liederbuch-Georgien-Weltkulturerbe/dp/3954903016 Donate to help tell more women's stories:- ko-fi.com/voicesoftheancestors www.patreon.com/voicesoftheancestors Join our community facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/516207299354485 Sign up for our email updates and never miss an episode: eepurl.com/hhgoOf Searchable transcript, available here voicesoftheancestors.co.uk/transcripts.