Kahilu Theatre presents Waimea Community Chorus concert ‘1940’s: The Golden Age of Song’
The Waimea Community Chorus will perform its 25th annual spring concert at 7 p.m. June 2 and at 4 p.m. June 3 at the Kahilu Theatre. Inspired by music from The Great American Songbook, WCC musical director Barbara Kopra and the 60-chorus performers will present “1940’s: The Golden Age of Song.” Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at kahilutheatre.org, by calling 885-6868 or at the Kahilu Theatre box office. The box office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and during all performances at the Kahilu Theatre.
Supporting Kopra and the chorus will be an instrumental jazz ensemble comprised of local musicians Alex Czerny on piano, Joe Barry on bass, Noa Eads on drums, Greg McKenna on alto sax, Natan Gore on tenor sax, Susan Garrod on trombone and Charley O’Kelly on trumpet. There will also be a special guest performance by David Tarnas on flute.
Info: Visit www.kahilutheatre.org.
Maxi Priest playing on the Big Island
Reggae musician Maxi Priest is coming to the Big Island.
Priest will perform on June 17 at the Honokaa People’s Theatre. General admission tickets are $45. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show begins 7 p.m.
Priest’s unique vision has led him to tremendous international success. His latest album, Easy To Love, includes the lead single by the same name, which was a smash No. 1 hit on the reggae charts. The song also features the legendary Jamaican drum and bass duo Sly &Robbie.
Info: For information, tickets and VIP visit www.bluesbearhawaii.com.
Mother’s Day annual chamber music concert at Niaulani Sculpture Garden
Volcano Art Center is pleased to present the Volcano Chamber Players, a string quartet, in a classical music concert to celebrate Mother’s Day. The “Mother’s Day Chamber Music Concert” takes place from 3-5 p.m. May 13 at Volcano Art Center’s Great Room overlooking the Niaulani Sculpture Garden. Treat your mother, or yourself, to beautiful music and complimentary pupu. Beverages will be available for purchase.
Volcano Chamber Players will perform works by classical composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Joseph Haydn, Felix Mendelssohn and British composer Karl Jenkins. Also featured will be popular works by Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Henry Mancini, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. The Volcano Chamber Players are Glenda Johnson and Rumi Reeves on violin, Susan McGovern on viola and Meg Saunders on cello.
Tickets for the concert are $25/$20 for VAC members. To purchase tickets, call Volcano Art Center at 967-8222 or visit www.volcanoartcenter.org.
Funds raised from this event will support the Niaulani Sculpture Garden and ongoing programs at Volcano Art Center. Volcano Art Center Niaulani Campus is located at 19-4074 Old Volcano Road in Volcano Village.
Info: Visit www.volcanoartcenter.org.
Blue Sea Artisans hosting watercolor painting workshop for Mother’s Day
The Blue Sea Artisans Gallery will be hosting a watercolor painting workshop themed “Mother’s Day Hibiscus Flowers” with watercolor artist Stefanie Culbertson from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday in front of the Blue Sea Artisans Gallery in the Keauhou Shopping Center. The objective is to paint a hibiscus flowers painting for Mother’s Day for a mother or loved one.
This is a free workshop for adults and children ages 8 and up with all supplies provided.
Stop by the Blue Sea Artisans Gallery or call 329-8000 to sign up and reserve a spot. There will be a maximum of 20 spots available. Walk-ins on the day of the workshop are welcome, depending on seat availability.
The Blue Sea Artisans Gallery is located in the Keauhou Shopping Center, Courtyard, 78-6831 Alii Drive, Kailua-Kona, and is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Info: Please call the gallery at 329-8000.
Workshop at VAC’s ceramic studio
All skill levels are welcome to join the Volcano Art Center’s ceramic studio for “Sunday Clay — High Fire!,” an eight-week workshop beginning Sunday and running through July 1. There will be a morning session from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. or an afternoon session from 2:45 –5:45 p.m.
Teaching artist, Erik Wold, will provide instruction for this class including demonstrations of wheel throwing methods and be available for individualized assistance.
Seven registration slots are open to wheel throwers, and two additional places will be open to hand builders. Beginners as well as continuing students are welcome.
Cost for either session is $200/$180 for VAC Members plus a $15 materials fee for six pounds of clay, which includes glazes and firing for that material. Additional clay will be available for purchase.
Info: Visit www.volcanoartcenter.org.
Free concert for new organ dedication
Hawaii’s newest and most technically advanced church organ will be dedicated in a free concert at Honpa Hongwanji Hilo Betsuin, 398 Kilauea Ave. in Hilo, at 2 p.m. June 10.
Performing on the new organ will be Rick Mazurowski, organist and choir director at Hilo’s Church of the Holy Apostles and featured organist at the Palace Theatre. His program will include favorites of Johann Sebastian Bach, original compositions by Mazurowski, traditional gathas from Praises Of The Buddha and transcriptions of well-known concert pieces arranged for organ. Also on the program will be violinist Megan Pascual, who will be accompanied by Mazurowski.
This new Allen Organ was custom built by the Allen Organ Company, in Pennsylvania, the largest builder of church organs in the world. Its specifications were designed exclusively for Honpa Hongwanji Hilo Betsuin by Church Organs Hawaii partners, Bob Alder and Jude Oliver, who also did the installation and tonal finishing of this magnificent musical instrument. Alder and Oliver, who are based in Hilo, are responsible for the care and maintenance of over 250 church organs throughout Hawaii.
This organ is the first in Hawaii to include touch screen features that allow organists to easily customize hundreds of traditional pipe organ and orchestral voices for the specific musical needs of the services that it will accompany. It has multiple voicing suites that include digital sampling from the finest pipe organs in the U.S. and Europe. It is a larger version of the Allen Organ that was recently installed in the Vatican’s Basilica of Saint Peter for accompanying the Sistine Chapel Choir and was featured in the worldwide broadcast of the Pope’s Christmas Eve Mass.
A reception for the artists, with light refreshments, will follow the concert in Sangha Hall.
Info: Visit the Church Organs Hawaii website at www.churchorganshawaii.com.