In this section are gathered together resources we have found helpful in our exploration of Georgian polyphonic songs, and the women who sing them. If you would like your resources or ensemble to be featured here please contact us.
Musical Guest Houses, Tours and Teachers
Georgian Singing Tours in 2025
Where to See Georgian Folk Dance, Polyphony & Live Music in Tbilisi?
Books – song books, recipe books.
Podcasts related to Georgia
Female & Mixed Ensembles in Georgia
Places to Sing Georgian Songs in Tbilisi (or online).
Choirs: France ; Finland ; Netherlands ; Belgium
Conferences and Workshops

Georgian Supra Songs – Presentation and Workshop
Saturday 19th May 2-5pm
Presentation:
Learn about the Georgian Supra (feast) from Susan and Holly, hosts of ‘Voices of the Ancestors’ podcast.
Followed by
Singing workshop:
Learn 1 or 2 polyphonic georgian songs suitable for singing during a supra. Led by Holly Taylor-Zuntz. Holly is a singing leader specialising in community music and harmony songs from the country of Georgia, where she spent many years living and learning about folk music. Holly trained as a Natural Voice leader and enjoys combining mindfulness techniques and somatic exercises into her practice, using the whole body as an instrument.
Singing level:
This workshop is open to those who can hold a tune while singing with others. No previous experience of Georgian music is required, and you do not need to be able to read music. Learning will be ‘by ear’ without sheet music. If you already know many Georgian songs, this workshop offers a new perspective on them.
NOTE: This event is intended as an introduction to the art of Supra. It is NOT an actual supra feast. There will not be wine and food! But there will be tea and coffee provided.
Ticket pricing: Concessions and on the Door
If you need a concession, please contact Susan Thompson by email to arrange this: voicesofancestors@gmail.com.
Ticket prices should not be a barrier to access.
There will be some tickets on the door, priced at £27.00.
https://buytickets.at/voicesoftheancestors/1644478
Can I park at Yarwell Village Hall?
Parking is limited at the hall. There is on-street parking.
Location
Yarwell Village Hall, PE8 6PR, UK

We are completely independent. This podcast is literally just Holly and Susan making something we are passionate about together. So every individual donation is seen by us and felt by us and really appreciated. Thank you so much.
Patreon is one of the best ways to support independent artists for a monthly or annual subscription.
Musical Guest Houses, Tours and Teachers …
Disclaimer: We do not endorse the offerings in this list. We do want to share the wide variety of possibilities for musical visitors to Georgia. Things change – please contact the organisers directly to find out the current situation.
Georgian singing tours in 2025
Workshop of Folklorist, Choir-Master and singer Tornike Skhiereli – “Georgian Traditional Culture in Racha”
June 13-19/20-26 : July 11-17/18-24 : August 1-7/15-21 : September 5-11/19-25 : October 10-16/17-23

Venue: Oni City, Family Hotel – Folklore House
Workshop Leader: Tornike Skhiereli
7 days, meetings with traditional singers in villages in Racha and the opportunity to sing with them. Meetings with “Dziriani” folk ensemble.
Price: 1150 euros (full board)
Contact: info@folkhouse.ge tornikeskhiereli@gmail.com
Joyous Host Georgian Folk Camp August 4th-17th 2025
Venue: 1 week in the high Mountains of Racha and a second week in Guria! The Centre of polyphony.
Price: € 1800
Feel free to contact gpolyphony@gmail.com if you want to book a spot.
Village Harmony Georgia Camp 2025, August 3rd -17th
Venue: Sighnaghi, Republic of Georgia
Leaders: Ketevan Mindorashvili – Zedashe Ensemble, members of Zedashe Ensemble & Sinead O’Mahoney
Price: $2400, shared accommodations; $2550 double room; $2900 for single room
The 15-day long camp is based in Sighnaghi, Kakheti, a historic walled hill-town with a breathtaking view of the Alazani Valley and the Caucasus Mountains about 1-1/2 hours’ drive east of Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital. This will be Village Harmony’s 21st singing workshop in Caucasus Georgia.
Georgia Singing Tour — Find your Voice – 15 – 24 August 2025 or 29 August – 6 September 2025

Holly is co-leading a 9-day adventure through the mountains of Western Georgia with Swan from the Institute of Devotional Arts.
Embark on a 9-day journey to uncover your voice and experience Georgia’s mesmerizing music, authentic culture, and breathtaking natural beauty.
Georgian Music Workshop Leaders: Nino Naneishvili – Ialoni; Chamgeliani Sisters; Avtandil Turkia; The Turmanidze Family
Price: € 1998.00
For details and booking:
https://www.devotionalarts.org/events/georgia-singing-tour-august-september-2025
Journey to the Source of Songs: Georgia
4-12 September 2025
Venue: Kutaisi, Merisi
Georgian Music Workshop Leaders: Turmanidze Family, Zurab Tskrialashvili, Lolita Surmanidze
Organizers: Olga Lidia Kozłowska, Justyna Dziuma
9 days singing with Georgian masters in traditional homestays
Learning by ear, just as Georgian songs have been passed down for generations
Immersing in local culture, from folk stories to home-cooked meals
Exploring breathtaking landscapes—waterfalls, rivers, mountains
Balancing music with rest, nature walks, and a cooking lesson with a Georgian mom
Price: € 1490
Culture Tours
Christian Orthodox Tour 19-26 July 2025

For more information contact: natalijaclenova@gmail.com
Village Life Travel, Co-founded by Sandro Natadze Philosopher, Member of Traditional Georgian polyphony choir – Adilei and Tina Nadareishvili, Peace Ambassador, Member of Georgian Association of Guides.
John Graham Choir Tours, offer top quality logistics and concert promotion for choirs wishing to tour in Georgia by private request.
Guest house Moqvare, Merisi, Ajara – Turmanidze family
Keti’s House, Shilda, Kakheti. Keti and Bachana (singer with the Shilda Ensemble) are happy to host everyone who needs rest from the city, with music and good company.
Folk House, Zugdidi – Besiki Tshitanava
Nanila Guest House Lenjeri Svaneti, family Pilpani
Georgian Folk Singing Tours and Workshops (Facebook Group) Levan Bitarovi (singer with Adilei)
Creatour Georgia 7 day cultural tour of Western Georgia. Offer group tour (30 people) includes accommodation, guide, activities, meals, programs, ground transport.
Where to See Georgian Folk Dance, Polyphony & Live Music in Tbilisi?
Wander Lush website
As Emily Lush says on the Wander Lush website “The capital is not necessarily the best place to see such performances”. Check out Wander Lush for ideas on where to find live music and dance.
Tbilisi podcast
Megsy and Tom, on the Tbilisi podcast, have an introductory episode on the history of Georgian Polyphonic singing. They mention places in and near Tbilisi where folk singing and dancing can be found.
Folklore State Centre
The Folklore State Centre has an E-magazine called “Georgian Folklore” with a news section. The facebook events page of the Folklore Centre is also worth keeping an eye on. Events are often posted only a couple of days in advance. Anzor Erkomaishvili’s Folklore State Centre, 65 Davit Aghmashenebeli Ave, Tbilisi.
Bulletin of the International Research Center for Traditional Polyphony
New volumes of the Bulletin are uploaded in January and June at the Centre’s Web Site www.polyphony.ge. Mostly full of really interesting information about past events.
Gratitude
Susan and Holly give thanks, appreciation and gratitude to the team at IRCTP for their dedication to the study of Traditional Georgian Polyphony. (And for hosting the podcast launch in October 2020 and Series 2 launch in 2022.)
International Research Centre for Traditional Polyphony Tbilisi, Georgia. Current information from the IRCTP can be found on their Facebook page and YouTube. International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony.
Resources: Books

99 Georgian Songs A collection of traditional folk, church and urban songs from Georgia. Introduced by Edisher Garakanidze. Song notes and translations by Joseph Jordania. Edited by Joan Mills at the Centre for Performance Research assisted by colleagues, friends and family members of Edisher Garakanidze. Listen to Joan Mills in Episode 7.
The Georgian Feast: The Vibrant Culture and Savory Food of the Republic of Georgia by Dara Goldstein. Mentioned in Episode 7 with Joan Mills.


Songbook Georgia / Liederbuch Georgien: Georgia’s World Cultural Heritage / Georgiens Weltkulturerbe by Tamar Buadze (Author), Imke McMurtrie (Author). This Songbook of Georgia, which focuses on the female repetoire of traditional songs, is the product of two singers and music ethnologists who have been working together for many years: Tamar Buadze (Georgia) and Imke McMurtrie (Germany).
Svan Folk Songs Collection of Sheet Music with 2 audio CD’s for Self-Study.
The recordings were made in the 1980s in the Voice Recording Studio “Melodia”, and this unique phonoarchive was donated by Anzor Erkomaishvili to the Georgian Chant Foundation.
The publication was non-profit and it is available in electronic form, from the Georgian Chanting Foundation.


Acharan Folk Songs Collection of Sheet Music with audio CD for Self-Study.
Songs are performed by the Moqvare and Elesa ensembles from the Keda municipality.
The publication was non-profit and it is available in electronic form, from the Georgian Chanting Foundation.
Musics Lost and Found
Song Collectors and the Life and Death of Folk Tradition
This ground-breaking book is the first-ever study of the role played in musical history by song collectors. This is the first-ever book about song collectors, music’s unsung heroes.
Michael Church suggests we may be seeing folk music’s ‘end of history’. Old forms are dying as the conditions for their survival – or replacement – disappear; the death of villages means the death of village musical culture.

Resources: Films
Wie Luft zum Atmen The documentary discovers the musicality of Georgia and presents its significance for this country. For it is in the lost and rediscovered songs and dances that Georgians preserve their very own identity and strength. Mentioned by Jen Morris (Like Air to Breath) in Episode 12a. Singing Landscapes – From Georgia to the Balkans.
Resources: Podcasts
Tbilisi Podcast – A podcast about life and travel in Tbilisi & Georgia. The Tbilisi podcast is a weekly show that dives in and answers all the questions you might have about visiting Tbilisi as a tourist. 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲: 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬:
Resources: Websites for Folk Related Organisations, Festivals and Places
Art Gene Festival annual festival in Tbilisi and the regions. Art Gene Group NGO “Union of Art Gene”, whose main aim is to promote Georgia’s traditional folk culture.
Folklore Centre on ფოლკლორის ცენტრი
Folklore Centre on Audiomack
Folk Center Hall ფოლკლორის ცენტრის დარბაზი Performance & event venue, Tbilisi.
GeorgianChant.org a face book group devoted to Georgian Chant, a Resource for the Study of Georgian Liturgical Music.
Georgian Chant a website resource for the study and performance of Georgian Orthodox liturgical chant.
Georgian Harmony Association – UK acts as a publicity and umbrella organisation for Georgian singing events.

Computational Ethnomusicology
Multi-Media Recordings Of Traditional Georgian Vocal Music With Focus On Svaneti
There is much to explore from this website following the work of Scherbaum, F. & N. Mzhavanadze, N.
Ts’utisopeli A project dedicated to the conservation and dissemination of songs from villages in Eastern Georgia. You are invited to explore over 70 musician profiles and 400 songs on this site.
State Museum of Georgian Folk Music and Musical Instruments
Resources: Female & Mixed Ensembles in Georgia
Bolnela ბოლნელა
See Bolnela perform on Voices of the Ancestors YouTube Channel.
Chamgeliani Sisters from The Singing Village
Gogochuri Sisters დები გოგოჭურები
Iagundi Ansamble from Achara
See Iagundi perform on Voices of the Ancestors YouTube Channel.
Ialoni იალონი
See Ialoni perform on Voices of the Ancestors YouTube Channel.
Irinola ირინოლა
Kimilia კიმილია
Kolkhuri trio კოლხური ტრიო
Melorama Quartet მელორამა
Mtiebi მთიები
Mzetamze მზეთამზე
Nanina ნანინა
Rekheuli Ensemble რეხეული
Sathanao სათანაო
Tutachela ახალგაზრდული გუნდი თუთარჩელა
Zedashe ზედაშე
Resources: Choirs UK
Maspindzeli მასპინძელი based in Central London, UK.
Bednieri ბედნიერი based in Birmingham, UK
Chela and Buska based in Cambridge, UK
Borjaghali ბორჯღალი based in Bristol, UK
K’ak’ali ‘Walnuts’ based in Wales
Kalta choir based in Oxford, UK
Viva based in Totnes, UK
Zarebi based in Hebden Bridge, UK
Resources: Choirs France
TSITSINATELA Caen
Choeur d’Aronde in Montreuil directed by Luna Silva
Resources: Choirs Finland
Ensemble Tevri Helsinki
Resources: Choirs Netherlands
Ensemble Sakartvelo/Georgia
Resources: Choirs Belgium
Ensemble Mesoblebi Leuven