May 18 Saturday
Join us on Saturday, May 18th for the Hala Festival as we celebrate one of Hawaiʻi's most iconic native trees. Cherished for its versatile uses in weaving, leimaking, and other traditional practices, hala holds a special place in Hawaiian culture. Join us from 10am-2pm to learn from expert weavers and cultural practitioners and discover how you can play a role in protecting hala for future generations. Enjoy hands-on workshops, live entertainment, local vendors, and much more! This event is organized by the Big Island Invasive Species Committee in collaboration with Pōhaku Pelemaka.
Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives is excited to announce the return of our Mele Programs, the first to be held since 2019. Join us on a musical journey in the footsteps of Rev. William Ellis’ circumnavigation of Hawaiʻi Island in 1823 featuring the musicians and dancers of Hālau Mele, Kumu Sam ʻOhu Gon III and Kumu Mahealani Wong, and Hālau Hula Kamamolikolehua, Kumu Pohai Souza, as well as a LIVE History Theatre portrayal of Rev. William Ellis.The program will be held on the beautiful Kahua Hoʻokipa Stage at the Hawaiian Mission Houses, 553 S. King St., Honolulu, HI 96813, on the Waikīkī side of Kawaiahaʻo Church. Seating will open at 5pm and the program will start at 6pm. Tickets are $35 per person. Tickets and more information available at https://missionhouses.org/upcoming-events/. In 1823, Rev. William Ellis of the London Missionary Society and several American Protestant missionaries toured Hawaiʻi Island scouting possible locations for future mission stations. Rev. Ellis wrote a detailed account of this circumnavigation published as A Journal of a Tour around Hawaii, the Largest of the Sandwich Islands in 1825. He describes in minute detail his travel path, the people he encountered, the landscape he saw, and the stories and traditions of the different parts of the island he travelled through. The journey by foot and waʻa (canoe) took place June through August, 1823. Rev. William Ellis is well-known for his anthropological observations from his time as a missionary in Tahiti and Hawaiʻi in the early 1800s, published in Polynesian Researches. Rev. Ellis and the American Protestant Missionaries became the first Westerners to visit Kilauea Crater. The Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail encompasses many of the places that Rev. Ellis visited in 1823 (https://www.nps.gov/alka/index.htm). Through the mele, oli, and hula presented by the two hālau, as well as a special guest appearance by Rev. Ellis from the Hawaiian Mission Houses’ History Theatre Program, we will recreate parts of Rev. Ellis’ journey as well as share the stories and beauty of Hawaiʻi Island.
May 19 Sunday
HEY, Big Island bluegrass ‘ohana! We're going to have another awesome jam at The OASIS in Pāhoa on May 19 from noon till 5PM!
We'll celebrate the life of Mother Maybelle Carter, born on May 10, 1909! The influence of Mother Maybelle and the Carter Family on the music we love cannot be overstated. Let's sing some of their splendid old tunes at our jam!
Here's a few we might cover...
Wildwood Flower Keep On The Sunny Side Dixie Darlin' Wabash Cannonball In The Pines Will The Circle Be Unbroken
Bring your acoustic stringed instrument, a chair to sit on, a picnic lunch and something to drink, a jacket in case it gets windy, and a friend or two to enjoy the pickin'!
Just $5 to attend -- and it's FREE for keiki 12 and under, and current members of Bluegrass Hawai‘i! See ya there!!!
Kona Choral Society joins forces with Oahu Choral Society to create a community-based chorus of more than 100 singers. Partnering with instrumentalists from the Big Island, Maui, and Oʻahu, the groups will present Mozart’s Vesperae Solemnes de Confessore along with two works of the great American composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein: Chichester Psalms and Make Our Garden Grow from the operetta Candide.
Maui Songwriter Showcase Rounds
NEXT EDITION: Sunday, May 19, 2024 at 7pm4 of Maui's Most Talented Songwriters in the Round, sharing their stories and lives behind the music. Featuring Rabbitt, Sierra Carrère, Mondokane, and J. Lyn (Oahu). Hosted by Sara Jelley.Presented with Mana'o Radio and Sara Jelley Music
Tickets$25 Standard Seating$30 Preferred Seating: Best-view seating in either the Front row (seats A7 to A15) OR the front row of any elevated section$35 Premium Seating: Extra large and comfy front row seats from A1 to A6 with side tables
Run time: 2 hours with 15 Min intermission
For information on our Access for All initiative, please go to ProArtsMaui.com/Access-for-All/
BOOK
BAMP Project presents Justin Kawika Young with special guest Jason Arcilla live at da Playground Maui on Sunday, May 19th, 2024.
Born and raised in Hawai’i, Justin Kawika Young first found success in his island home. He accumulated eleven number-one hits on Hawai’i radio before relocating to Los Angeles. He quickly established a following in the local music scene there and connected with other singer/songwriters including Colbie Caillat, eventually joining her band.
Young toured with Caillat as her acoustic guitarist/background vocalist and co-wrote two songs on Caillat’s All Of You album. In 2019 Justin and Caillat formed a band in Nashville with two friends called Gone West. They debuted at The Grand Ole Opry in October of 2019 and their first single, What Could Have Been, hit the top 25 at Country radio. Gone West has accumulated of 30 million Spotify streams.
Justin’s original music can also be heard on the soundtracks of Point Break, Wild Horses and The Walking Dead TV series.
May 20 Monday
A string quartet that “has everything” is part of a stellar lineup of musicians coming to Maui in May. Among the other eight are a “thrillingly good pianist,” a clarinetist with “inexhaustible virtuosity,” and a violinist whose playing has been called “breathtakingly beautiful.” Their concerts in the 42nd Maui Classical Music Festival are scheduled May 17 at Makawao Union Church, May 20 at Keawala’i Congregational Church in Makena, May 22 at Wananalua Congregational Church in Hana, and May 24 and 26 at the historic Iao Theater in Wailuku. Returning after an acclaimed performance here in 2019 is the Formosa Quartet of violinists Jasmine Lin and Eric Gratz, violist Matthew Cohen and cellist Deborah Pae. With them will be violinists Sean Lee and Susie Park, pianists Rohan De Silva and Zhenni Li-Cohen, cellist Amir Eldan and clarinetist Yoonah Kim, along with violist Yizhak Schotten and pianist Katherine Collier, the festival’s music directors since it began in 1982. The Formosa Quartet plays with “focused intensity and extraordinary musicianship,” the San Diego Union has written. Another critic wrote, “Not only does the Formosa Quartet play beautifully – each member has charm to burn. They have everything.” Violinist Lin was a prize winner in the International Paganini Competition and took second prize in the International Naumburg Competition for a style described as “electrifying assertiveness” and “virtuosic abandon.” Gratz, also a prize winner at national and international competitions, became the youngest concertmaster in North America at age 22 when he accepted the post in 2013 with the San Antonio Symphony. Cohen was a special prize winner at the prestigious Primrose International Competition, and cellist Pae has been acclaimed for “extraordinary musicianship” and “magical” playing. New to the Maui festival is pianist Li-Cohen, winner of the 2017 New York Concert Artists Worldwide Debut Audition, Astral Artist’s 2016 National Auditions, the Grieg International Competition in Norway, and the unanimous 1st Prize at the Concours Musical de France. A “thrillingly good pianist,” said the New Yorker. Among pianist De Silva’s awards are the best accompanist special prize at the ninth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Violinist Sean Lee, praised by the New York Times for “breathtakingly beautiful” playing, was a recipient of Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher career grant. Park, recently appointed first associate concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra, was won top honors at the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition, the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis and the Wieniawski Competition in Poland. Eldan is a winner of the Juilliard Competition. He has served as principal cello of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and guest principal with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. At age 22, he became the youngest member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, where he was associate principal cello. The “inexhaustible virtuosity” praise for clarinetist Kim came from the New York Times. She has won the 2016 Concert Artists Guild International Competition, the Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition, the George Gershwin International Competition and the Vienna International Competition.
May 22 Wednesday
May 24 Friday
Tiki Fridays at Romer Waikiki!Enjoy the sounds of Vibra Cubana! in the courtyard. Vibra Cubana! performs every Friday from 5-8PM. Romer Waikiki is a boutique hotel at the beginning of Waikiki, both timeless and trendy. Enjoy the sounds of Vibra Cubana! in the courtyard, bringing back the timeless musical sounds of old Waikiki.Best served with a Mai Tai.#waikiki#tiki