Vakhtang Kodanashvili

Semifinal Round I

A native of Tbilisi, Georgia, Vakhtang Kodanashvili began his musical education at the Georgian Special School of Music, studying under Marina Gelashvili and made his orchestral debut at the age of nine. While in school he actively performed in numerous recitals in the former Soviet Union, as a soloist with national orchestras, and in performances on national television and radio. In 1995, Mr. Kodanashvili joined the Alexander Toradze Piano Studio at Indiana University South Bend. Throughout his studies, he received numerous special awards for his exceptional achievements. He received both his Bachelor’s and Master of Music degrees from Indiana University at South Bend. Since becoming a student of Alexander Toradze, Vakhtang constantly appeared in the stu¬ dio concerts in the United States as well as around the world. He has performed within such prestigious music festi-valsii as Hollywood Bowl, Edinburgh, Ruhr, Stresa, Ravenna, Rotterdam, Salzburg, and Gilmore Festivals among many others. He has appeared with the lUSB Philharmonic, South Bend, Elkhart, La Porte, Springfield (Missouri), World Piano Festival, Spokane and Tbilisi Symphony orchestras, under the baton of Michael Esselstrom, Tsung Yeh, Philip Bauman, Gunther Schuller, Vakhtang Kakhidze and others. In 2001, as winner of the World Piano Competition, Vakhtang Kodanashvili gave his New York City debut recital at Lincoln Centers Alice TuUy Hall. Mr. Kodanashvili is also a first prize winner of the Hellam Young Artist Competition in Springfield, Missouri, the Nena Wideman Piano Competition in Shreveport, Louisiana, and the Bartok-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev International Piano Competition in Radford, Virginia. Mr. Kodanashvili is currently studying with Professor George Vatchnadze at Michigan State University College of Music where he is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree.