Campus Project Georgia 2026

What happens when young musicians from Germany and Georgia – a country standing at a historic crossroads – come together? Music then becomes far more than mere entertainment – it becomes a shared language of identity, hope and European solidarity. This documentary takes a look behind the scenes of the Georgia 2026 Campus Project.

Since 2001, the Campus Project has been bringing together up-and-coming talents from all over the world with young German musicians. It often focuses on countries undergoing far-reaching processes of transformation. With Georgia, it is (for the second time since 2003) turning the spotlight on a country where a democratic and pro-European future is the subject of debate. In Tbilisi, 16 young instrumentalists from the German National Youth Orchestra and the Tbilisi Youth Orchestra have joined forces with a binational vocal ensemble comprising members of the German National Youth Choir and Georgian singers to rehearse for the Campus Concert on 23 September in Bonn.

Bringing together two such different musical traditions begins long before the first note is played. In both the orchestra and the choir, those involved speak of challenges such as language barriers and differing singing techniques. Despite all these hurdles, the young artists gradually found their way to a shared sound.

 »My Georgian piece is a new possibility for me to show different people, what Georgia is and what Georgia has. I am very happy to represent my country in this way.«

– Tsotne Zedginidze

The documentary also offers personal insights into the life of the 17-year-old pianist and composer Tsotne Zedginidze. In an interview, his grandmother – who teaches him to play the piano – explains how Tsotne discovered music all by himself even as a child. She provides insights into the young artist’s creative process and emphasises that he is, in fact, always making music and is constantly surrounded by it.

Under the musical direction of Mirian Khukhunaishvili, the programme ranges from late Beethoven and 17th-century Schütz chorales to modern Georgian works. It culminates in a commissioned work by the young composer Tsotne Zedginidze for piano and chamber orchestra.

The documentary shows how strangers come together to form an ensemble and how music creates shared spaces that transcend all boundaries.