FYI

   Vakhtang Jordania Dies
   By Susan Elliott
   MusicalAmerica.com
   October 6, 2005

   Conductor Vakhtang Jordania died on Tuesday at his home in
   Virginia after a long illness.  He was 62.

   Recently associated with the Russian Federal Orchestra of Moscow,
   onetime principal guest conductor of the Chattanooga Symphony
   and Opera, Jordania since 2001 has been closely affiliated with
   the annual international conducting competition bearing his name.
   According to his publicist, its last installment attracted
   applicants from 25 different countries.

   Jordania was born in the Republic of Georgia and defected to the
   United States in 1983.  A graduate of the Tbilisi and Leningrad
   conservatories, he first came to international attention in 1971
   as a winner of the Herbert von Karajan Competition.  Since then
   he has been an active guest conductor among regional orchestras.
   Opera credits include the Bolshoi and Kirov Theaters, the Korean
   American Opera Company and the Minnesota Opera, where he is said
   to have led the North American premiere of Dvorak's "Rusalka."
   Labels for which he has recorded include Melodiya, Koch International
   Classics, and Helicon.

   The conductor is survived by his wife and four children.  A
   memorial service is scheduled for Oct.  8 at his local church
   in New Market.

Karl