Central activity of the Polyphonic Center is organizing biannual symposia, with subsequent publication of the presented papers, fostering dissemination of the knowledge on human musical cultures and establishing close professional contacts between ethnomusicologists interested in study of the phenomenon of traditional choral singing.
The ongoing series of biannual conferences dedicated to the problems of traditional polyphony, with the wide participation of the experts from Soviet Union, Europe and America, were organized in 1984, 1986 and 1988.
The first symposium was preceded by proclamation of Georgian traditional polyphony among the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2001.
The Polyphonic Centre has been supported during the recent years by the Presidents of Georgia, Eduard Shevardnadze and Mikhail Saakashvili.
A group of international expert-ethnomusicologists, including Simha Arom from France, Dieter Christensen from the United States, Franz Fodermayr from Austria, Polo Vallejo from Spain, had been participating in virtually every symposia, together with ethnomusicologists from different countries (including experts from China, Japan, Australia, Canada, eastern and western Europe, Turkey, Egypt.
Participating scholars are traditionally provided by the hosts with hotel accommodation, internal transport and food during the Symposium.