A vocal group was founded at TSU in 1928 under the leadership of Grigol Kokelidze. The latter was a student of the Faculty of Georgian Language and Literature and simultaneously studied at Tbilisi State Conservatoire. The group won the 1 st place at the Second Olympiad of Vocal Groups of
Georgia. It was a group consisting of 50 female and male singers with a large repertoire. The group
performed Georgian folk as well as European songs.
In 1932-1933, Kote Potskhverishvili was invited to the University to establish a vocal group of
students. The group performed songs in four voices and it united students from various courses and
faculties. Kote Potskhverishvili decided to use Georgian traditional musical instruments, among
them panduri and chonguri. For this purpose, he invited Akvsenti Megrelidze, chonguri player.
Despite great success, in 1934 the group stopped operation.
In 1937, Akvsenti Megrelidze became the head of the group. Its repertoire involved both classical
and folk Georgian songs.
Akaki Urushadze established an excellent group at the Faculty of Geography and Geology. Soon, a
group of dancers joined it, transforming the group into the song and dance ensemble. Archil
Meskhidze established a 35-member choir of singers at the Faculty of Law with the repertoire
consisting of both modern and folk songs.
In 1947, an amateur choir was established under the guidance of Solomon Gvelesiani, uniting 170
students. Upon his initiative, choirs of singers were established at all faculties. They were
functioning independently, but were simultaneously studying common songs.
Under the guidance of Solomon Gvelesiani, the choir created choral parts of the first and second acts
of the opera “Abesalom and Eteri.”

In 1979, TSU’s vocal ensemble toured Norway and performed at Oslo’s largest concert hall,
Concert House, where their performance deserved huge appreciation. In that period, the ensemble
was led by Kote Mshvidobadze, expert in Georgian songs.

In the early 1990s, Mamuka Dolidze established a chamber orchestra of classical music, which
actively participated in the events held at the university and throughout the country. The orchestra
was also invited to international festivals in Germany and Holland.
In 2001, men’s traditional music ensemble was established under leadership of Tamaz Mamaladze.
The ensemble had received a lot of prizes.
In the early 2000s, Robert Gogolashvili established men’s vocal ensemble “University” (presently
“Kartuli Khmebi” (Georgian Voices), which successfully continues the university’s traditions. Its
repertoire includes folk songs from various parts of Georgia. An intensive work is underway to find
and develop old songs. The ensemble consists of 12 members. It is led by V. Dolidze, soloist of “Kartuli Khmebi.”
Any student of TSU with vocal skills can become a member of the ensemble. For this to happen, a student needs to take part in the selection process, which is held periodically. The best candidates will definitely join the ensemble.