Kavkasia Trio: traditional vocal music from the Republic of Georgia

Kavkasia (meaning "Caucasus") consists of three North Americans who together have more than sixty years of experience singing the traditional music of the Republic of Georgia. In 1994 we formed a professional vocal trio dedicated to studying and performing that music. In the years since then, we have performed everywhere from Lincoln Center to the Tbilisi Opera House.

We sing concerts and lead workshops in North America, and we have made several extended visits to Georgia to study with singers there, both in professional ensembles and in remote villages. In 1997 each of us was made a State Prize Laureate and was awarded the Silver Medal of the Georgian Ministry of Culture "for profound knowledge of the folk music of Georgia and his role in its popularization around the world."

with Anzor Erkomaishvili in Tbilisi at the 2002
International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony

recording session at Holy Cross Monastery in West Park, NY

All of Kavkasia's albums are available directly from us as well as in stores.

to order CDs:

in the Uni ted States

in Canada or the rest of the world

If the order link fails, email sgelzer1 at gmail dot com for U.S. orders or argasser at gmail dot com for Canada and the rest of the world.

The Fox & the Lion

The Fox and the Lion
(2006, Traditional Crossroads)

Here's a brief review of The Fox and the Lion by ethnomusicologist Ted Levin in BBC Music Magazine (September 2007):

"Trio Kavkasia exuberantly quashes the myth that world music traditions are most authentically represented by indigenous musicians. This threesome hails from North America, but here they render Georgian vocal polyphony's often weird-sounding harmonies and scale tunings with precision and panache. Recorded in a Benedictine monastery in New York, the music sounds lush and resonant, revealing the Trio's nimble counterpoint, angular voice-leading, and strident chord tunings in all their dissonant glory. (★★★★)"

Read more REVIEWS of The Fox and the Lion.

O Morning Breeze
(2001, Naxos World)

Click on the album cover image to see expanded liner notes for this album, full lyrics translations, and many photos.

Songs of the Caucasus

Songs of the Caucasus
(1995, Well-Tempered World)

(This album also exists as a reissue entitled "Songs of Earthly Delight From the Caucasus," with different cover artwork.)

performing with Kitka in Santa Cruz

backstage with Kitka in Brisbane

on stage in Lang Recital Hall at Swarthmore College (2008)

at Liberty Town Arts Workshop, Fredericksburg (2006)

guest-teaching Ted Levin's world music class at
Dartmouth College (2004)

Kavkasia's six-day intensive workshop on Georgian music
at the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto (2004)

with ethnomusicologists Izaly Zemtsovsky and
Joseph Jordania in Tbilisi (2002)

Comments, questions, praise, complaints, etc: contact us by email

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updated 26 February 2011

New York Times	"... exotic, beautifully modulated style... haunting beauty..."
Now Magazine	"... as riveting as any world beat act."
Weekend Edition, NPR	"This music is hundreds of years old, its origins deep in the Caucasus Mountains, harmonious and throaty."
Toronto Globe and Mail	"... superb blend and tuning... outstanding, both as an introduction to a rich musical tradition and as an example of highly accomplished a cappella singing."
Metro Morning, CBC	"This music vibrates up your body, and by the time it gets to the back of your neck, the little hairs on the back of your neck are standing up. It's quite wonderful."
Songlines	"... their performances are entirely convincing, and they’ve all sung with choirs in Georgia... Magnificent."
The Whole Note	"... three eloquent voices and Georgian instruments (also played by the singers) blend exquisitely in unusual tunings and thrilling harmonic modulations."
BBC Music Magazine	"... the music sounds lush and resonant, revealing the Trio’s nimble counterpoint, angular voice-leading, and strident chord tunings in all their dissonant glory."