Mikheil Menabde

Conductors

Mikheil Menabde (Georgia/Ukraine/Austria) was born in Tbilisi in 1978. Since 2010, he has resided in Ukraine.

From 1995 to 2006, Mikheil Menabde worked as a professional solo dancer and choreographer at the Georgian National Opera Theater, where he developed a deep interest in classical music. After receiving private tuition, he enrolled in a course in Choral Conducting at the Saradjishvili State Conservatory in Tbilisi. To pursue his dream of becoming a symphony orchestra conductor, Mikheil moved to Kyiv to study at the National Music Academy of Ukraine. In 2011, he graduated with a Master’s degree in Opera and Symphony Conducting under the tutelage of Prof. Roman Kofman, the Principal Conductor of the Beethoven Orchestra in Bonn (2003–2008).

Upon completing his education, Mikheil Menabde became an Assistant Conductor at the Symphony Orchestra of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine. He soon collaborated closely with Ukho agency, leading a series of projects dedicated to the popularization of works by contemporary Ukrainian composers such as Valentyn Sylvestrov, Maxim Shalygin, Alla Zagaykevych, Victoria Vita Polevá, and Svyatoslav Lunyov.

In 2014, Mikheil founded Armonia Ludus, a chamber orchestra comprised of some of Kyiv’s finest musicians, with a strong focus on 20th- and 21st-century music. The orchestra continues to introduce a wide variety of contemporary music genres and styles to Ukrainian audiences. Notable performances include the Ukrainian premieres of György Ligeti’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Arvo Pärt’s Tabula Rasa, Giacinto Scelsi’s Anahit, Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians, and Louis Andriessen’s Symphony for Open Strings. The orchestra has also performed works by other renowned composers such as Giya Kancheli, Pēteris Vasks, Tristan Murail, Marc-André Dalbavie, and Salvatore Sciarrino.

Mikheil is an active participant in many music festivals across Ukraine, including Kyiv Contemporary Music Days, Kyiv Music Fest, Kyiv Spring, and Two Days and Two Nights of New Music in Odesa. In October 2017, as part of the Gaudeamus International Festival, he served as Assistant Conductor for Maxim Shalygin’s project “Lacrimosa, or 13 Magic Songs” in Amsterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht.

He currently holds the position of Permanent Guest Conductor for both the Chamber and Symphony Orchestras of the Ukraine Philharmonic, as well as the National Symphony Orchestra in Georgia.

Menabde continued his studies in conducting through a postgraduate program at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts. Since 2019, he has served as the artistic director and conceptual manager of the Swiss non-profit association "CosmoKulture" which aims to organize festivals and concert series to promote contemporary music.