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Shalva Makharashvili
Georgian Solo Singer
Artist Bio
Shalva Makharashvili, a Georgian native, has been performing the music of his homeland for 20 years. Starting with the panduri (a 3-stringed indigenous lute) at the age of 4, his musical education included training in voice, tradition and classical choral repertoire, classical guitar, and traditional dance. As a young man he toured Georgia and the former Soviet Union as a soloist in the choir Chakrulo.
In 1997 he was invited to join Hereti, considered by many critics to be the foremost musical ensemble in the Caucasus. Featured as a vocal soloist, panduri and guitar player, he regularly performed to sold-out concert halls for the public, for diplomats, politicians, and visiting dignitaries. Shalva's contributions as a soloist and an instrumentalist have won him national acclaim.
Due to the political and social unrest in Georgia after the fall of the Soviet Union Hereti disbanded in the late 90's. Six of its members found their way to Toronto, received political asylum, and regrouped to make their Canadian debut in December of 1999. Since that time Hereti has performed in concert and on radio, most recently for CBC's Fresh Air, This Morning, and Sounds Like Canada (with Sheila Rogers).
In 2001 his love of Georgian music, and his respect for the Canadians who sang it, led him to accept an invitation to join Darbazi, Canada’s only Georgian Choir. He has shared his expertise and been a central contributor ever since.
In ZARI, Shalva has found two 'foreign' colleagues with whom to share Georgia's technically daunting, majestic trio music, a fact that has filled him with joy, surprise, and pride.
