Atherton Concerts - Hawaiʻi Classical Performance Series (2024)

Our HPR Atherton concert series returns with a celebration of classical music! Join us in person at our Honolulu studio for the <b>Hawaiʻi Classical Performance Series</b> with Saturday evening performances at the Atherton Performing Arts Studio. Featuring: Bardin-Niskala Duo, Gahlord Dewald, Shawn Conley, and Tommy Morrison.
Don’t miss your chance to hear their intimate performances and exclusive setlists in person at our Honolulu studio at 738 Kāheka Street. These performances will be recorded for future broadcasts and online content. All proceeds from each event support the featured artists. Click here to access tickets to all concerts in this series.
Featured artists:
Jan 6. - Bardin-Niskala Duo (piano, cello)
Website
Program: Transcriptions for cello and piano of beloved vocal works by Dvorak, Mahler, and Clara Schumann, alongside new works by Reena Esmail, Yvonne Wu, Michael-Thomas Foumai, and Melissa Dunphy. These new works are all inspired by folk and children's songs from the composers' cultural heritages.
About the artists: Playing together since 2016, cellist An-Lin Bardin and pianist Naomi Niskala joined as a duo in 2021 in response to the rise in anti-Asian violence and hate crimes across the United States. Through commissioned works by ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, and Native American) composers, the Duo aims to encourage composers to celebrate their racial heritage and embark on the journey to discover where and how they belong.
Jan. 13 - Gahlord Dewald (double bass)
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Program: Experimental musician Gahlord Dewald gives world and regional premieres of new works by Leilehua Lanzilotti, Rajna Swaminathan, Delbert Anderson, and others. The performance will include a selection from his Wa‘ahila Ridge Series featuring field recordings and electronics with double bass.
About the artist: Gahlord Dewald is a creative musician exploring textural sound, gesture, and the elements of time on the double bass and electronics. His creative practice integrates community organizing, commissioning newly composed works, and experimental works revealing the physical nature of sound and community.
Jan. 20 - Shawn Conley (double bass)
Instagram
Program: I am so excited to present a concert that showcases two of my biggest musical loves, Bach and improvisation. I will be performing Bach’s first cello suite in G major surrounded by spontaneous improvisations. Please join me for a night full of some of the greatest music ever written, accompanied by musical explorations on the solo double bass.
About the artist: Hawaiʻi-born bassist and composer Shawn Conley grew up loving all types of music. This love of diversity of sound developed into a career that straddles many genres. He has been a member of the Silk Road Ensemble (founded by Yo-Yo Ma) for 10 years and is a member of the Brooklyn-based chamber orchestra The Knights. Recently, he won the principal bass position in the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra.
Jan. 27 - Tommy Morrison (bassoon)
Instagram
Program: Join us for a rare solo Bassoon performance with Thomas “Tommy” Morrison performing An arrangement of Stravinsky - Pulcinella/Suite Italienne, Jeff Scott - Elegy for Innocence, Charles Koechlin Bassoon Sonata and Lili Boulanger nocturne.
About the artist: Tommy Morrison is a bassoonist with a passion for collaboration and learning. A Northern New Jersey native, he has been serving in the role of Principal Bassoon with the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra and Hawaiʻi Opera Theater since 2017. As a passionate educator, Tommy is on the faculty of the Punahou Music School, The Pacific Music Institute, and the Mānoa School of Music and Art, in addition to being a frequent clinician for the Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony.
The <b>Hawaiʻi Classical Performance Series</b> took place each Saturday in January. 100% of the concert ticket proceeds from each event support the featured artists. Your support allows us to provide thriving broadcast, digital and in-person platforms for Hawaiʻi's artists.
Interested in more live music in the Atherton? Check out our Mele Hawaiʻi Performance Series concerts that took place in February and March 2024.

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Aleeya Cantor-Charles is a ballet dancer at the Alexander Academy of Performing Arts on Maui. The King Kekaulike High School senior has been dancing at the Alexander Academy since she was 3 years old where the teachers made dance and learning fun. This year will be her third Nutcracker. Past roles have been Arabian Coffee, The Columbine Doll, The Snow Queen, and this year, The Sugar Plum Fairy.https://www.alexanderacademy.info
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In this episode of Classical Conservation Conversation: A Season of Creation Pt. 4, The Season of Creation ends, the feast day of St. Francis observed, and Dr. Shawn Lum celebrates the legacy of Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE. "Thank You Stars" from "Janeʻs Journey" written by Mike Batt and sung by Katie Melua follows this touching tribute to a person who held "aloha for animals, for all nature, and for all people."
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On his recent trip to Australia, Dr. Lum was reminded of land and land ethic... "what people consider sacred is often well protected." Aboriginal Australian multi-instrumentalist and composer William Bartonʻs Improvisation follows todayʻs Classical Conservation Conversation: A Season of Creation Pt. 3.
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Dr. Lum takes us to protected conservation areas around the world: Bali, India, Japan, Ethopia. "Sacred forests harbor native flora, allow native wildlife to thrive and help protect water resources and other life giving services for local communities"Eric Whitacreʻs The Sacred Veil: Magnetic Poetry follows todayʻs Classical Conservation Conversation: A Season of Creation Pt. 2.