Eka Chikovani was born on 3, October, 1963 in Tbilisi, Georgia. After graduating Tbilisi № 55 public school she went to M. Balanchivadze music school № 3, to take a course in choir conducting. Graduating the Music School with honours in 1982 she went to Tbilisi V. Sarajishvili State Conservatory where she did a course of choir conducting. At the same time she worked for the state cappella (choir) and had stage and teaching practice too.
After graduating the Conservatory with honours, qualifying as a choirmaster, music theorist and folklore expert she started working for the A. Khachaturian №10 music school as a teacher of folklore and choir disciplines taking part in various concerts and festivals and viewings.
In 1995 Eka stated working as a choirmaster at the experimental ten-year secondary school at Tbilisi V. Sarajishvili State Conservatory. Together with teaching and performing the West European classical music she did her best to popularize the Georgian classical music, folk songs and hymns among the young generation. Eka’s former students are now conductors, church choir members, singers carrying out fruitful creative work.
Different specific methods of teaching music she was interested in brought Eka to the “Bastububu” children’s TV musical studio she has been working for since then.
Since 2005 Eka has been working as a senior teacher of the choir conducting department at E. Mikeladze central music school. She is a conductor of the united children’s choir (Romeo Giorgadze being the second conductor). Taking into account the specificity and peculiarities that characterize forming a choir the children’s choir has been a success in a short period of time. In 2009 the choir gave a solo concert at Tbilisi V. Sarajishvili State Conservatory performing pieces of music by Schumann, Pergolesi, Fore, Georgian hymns and pieces of music by Georgian composers. At the concert Haydn’s h- moll and Mozart’s d-moll masses were first performed in Georgia (the orchestra conductor Giogri Jhordania).
Eka became a member of the Chikovani family ensemble owing to a funny story. At one of the concerts she slipped away from her mother in the audience, ran up on to the stage where Gigla and Marika stood and asked her father to let her sing her favourite song. At the cordial request of the audience Eka performed a song from a famous children’s movie, thus starting her participation in the family ensemble.
Eka has a voice of great range and in the family ensemble she mostly sings the second or the third parts (mezzo-soprano) both separately and together with her brother and her mother. She performs solo songs with equal success. Together with her brother and her father Eka is the author of various musical arrangements.
Eka’s late husband Gia Chigvaria, who died young, was a lawyer, a great lover of literature and poetry, with good knowledge of music and an author of a few poetical sketches. Gia’s father Boris Chigvaria, a renowned bridge builder, the Honoured Engineer of Georgia, a winner of many domestic and international awards and his brothers were famous in Racha, one of the Georgian provinces as excellent performers of folk songs.
The eldest of Eka’s two sons, Giorgi Boris Chigvaria, born in 1985, chose his grandfather’s profession. He is an excellent singer too and for years he sang in “The Lads” ensemble at №28 music school. Eka’s youngest son, Zurab Chigvaria graduated the branch of the American Humanitarian University (Hawaii) qualifying as a marketing analyst. He is a member the supervisory council of the “Khidmsheni” corporation.