Musician Giorgi Vachnadze will hold the position of rector of the State Conservatory named after Vano Sarajishvili in Tbilisi for the next four years. According to information from the Ministry of Culture, the rector was elected on March 12 through a secret vote, resulting in Giorgi Vachnadze being unanimously elected.
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The Ministry of Culture congratulates Giorgi Vachnadze on his election as rector of the Tbilisi Conservatory. According to the Ministry, Giorgi Vachnadze graduated from the Tbilisi Central Music School in 1985 and continued his studies at the Vano Sarajishvili State Conservatory. In 1990, he went to study at Mannes College in New York. In 1994, he graduated with a master's degree from Indiana University. From 2002 to 2005, he was a lecturer at Indiana University, and from 2004 to 2011, he was an assistant professor at Michigan State University. Giorgi Vachnadze is currently a professor at DePaul University in Chicago. He has performed concerts in the USA, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, Japan, Germany, Taiwan, Argentina, Great Britain, Israel, and other countries.
The position of rector of the conservatory became vacant in October of last year. The term of office of Nana Sharikadze, who had been the rector since 2019, expired on October 21, 2023. An open competition for the post of rector was announced on July 28, and the elections were scheduled for October 10. However, on September 25, Minister Tea Tsulukiani ordered the cancellation of the current competition. This decision followed Tea Tsulukiani's statement in parliament on September 20 about the need for reform in the conservatory.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Tbilisi State Conservatory needs to be reformed. The current institution should provide higher quality artistic education to our students, which, unfortunately, it is unable to do. I want to emphasize that this is not a flaw in the work of the academic staff; it is a very glaring flaw in the leadership. This is also my fault. When the leadership fails to fulfill its function, then the minister should be kind and change the leader. We will definitely do this, no matter how many people continue their activities there and think that the minister is never asked about anything," said Tsulukiani.
By her order, the conservatory was instructed to implement changes in the current charter. Specifically, granting the status of an independent scientific research unit to the International Center for Traditional Polyphonic Research in the Conservatory and, accordingly, increasing the composition of the Academic Council by one member. The academic council of the conservatory stated that the determination of the status for the center could not become the basis for canceling the election of the rector. On October 2, the conservatory filed a lawsuit with the Tbilisi City Council and requested the annulment of Tea Tsulukiani's order, but this petition was not granted. After that, the Ministry of Culture announced the selection competition for an acting rector. Giorgi Shaverzashvili has been acting as rector since the end of October.
