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Q. & A.
Answered by Buka Kartozia
| How did the group form? I had the idea of forming gifted children’s group long time ago while living in New York. As soon as I moved back to my home country, I started my search for the right children. Where are they from? All of them are from Tbilisi in the Republic of Georgia When did they form? In October of 2012 How old are they?? Twins (Salome Dolidze and Elene Dolidze) are 13, Anna Doiashvili is 15, Giorgi Toradze is 17, Papuna Sharikadze is 16. How would you describe their sound? Most of the audiences think their sound is terrific and shocking. It’s quite spectacular watching them singing. They should be too young for the complexity and difficulty of the arrangements they perform. I still don’t understand how they do this, how they remember their parts and perform with such an amazing ease. All the festivals and events they participate are for adult professionals. Starting from the very first contest in Leipzig they managed not only keeping up with competing professional singers but usually overcame them and won first or second places and many other awards on all singing contests they performed. What are their musical influences? Jazz and Georgian ethnic music Do they incorporate any traditional Georgian music? Yes, the music we perform is the synthesis of jazz, classical music, and ethnic music What is unique about Georgian harmony singing? Georgia is considered to be the homeland of vocal polyphony. Georgian vocal polyphony is extremely old, rich and unique. It’s wild and very sophisticated at the same time. Do they have formal training in singing? They all are the winners of different seasons of Georgian TV talent show “Ana Bana” (which means ABC in English) Where are they in school now? Yes, they study in different schools. One of them, Papuna Sharikadze (the bass), studies at the special school for gifted children and is phenomenal jazz piano player. What are their goals? When I ask them this question they say : “to go higher and higher”. How did you find them? I contacted the producer of “Ana Bana” who is a friend of mine and we had a casting and I chose these 5 kids. You are the director and manager? Yes, I am artistic director and producer and manager. What is your background? Are you currently involved in any other musical capacity? I used to sing in a very successful a cappella group “Georgian Jazz Sextet”, later I created vocal quartet “Autri” (which means “four”). Vocal polyphony is all I want to do in my life. I am also producer at Tbilisi Music and Drama State Theatre. What is the role of the Georgia Ministry of Culture? Ministry of Culture supports this group financially from the beginning. Also Tbilisi Center of Cultural Events plays huge role in the development of “The Quintessential Five" Is there a physical CD recording? We don’t have CD yet. Do you have any digital audio tracks recorded in a professional studio? mp3s We have some tracks recorded a year and a half ago but we are going to record them again in the next 2 weeks. Kids sing so much better now than 18 months ago. Which TV and radio shows have they been on? They have been in all the major TV in Georgia including Channel 1, Rustavi 2, Imedi and GDS. They have also performed on Radio Fortuna, Jazz Radio Georgia, WDR plus Deutchlandradio Kultur in Germany and FM 4 in Austria.
Do they have any notable gigs lined up? |
Buka Kartozia
Quotes about the Quintessential Five
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"The Quintessential Five is the pride of today’s Georgia. This incredible ensemble makes huge contribution towards the popularization of Georgian Culture throughout the world in a very different, unique way. That’s why the Government has been and will be supporting the Quintessential Five and help them to grow and develop and achieve their goals." Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival |
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