Hawai‘i Public Radio welcomes new music hosts Leimomi and Olivia Waring to its on-air roster.
Leimomi is the new Tuesday evening host of Bridging the Gap, the weeknight contemporary music program on HPR-1. With a degree in Language, Linguistics, and Literature, Leimomi says that she draws from her “appreciation for culture, sound and recording to weave together mixes that tell a story.”
She describes her playlists as a “low-key dance party” that “broadly presents left-field genres, electronica, and place-based music from around the globe.” She previously co-founded a local community radio platform, and has hosted programs on KTUH and Hawaiian Airlines.
"I’m stoked to be joining the HPR team,” Leimomi says. “I look forward to sharing my love for dance music from around the world. I truly believe public radio is an incredible tool for building resilient communities across the digital divide."
Leimomi is taking over the Tuesday host position from DJ Mermaid (Paige Okamura), who has stepped away to focus on Hawai‘i Kulāiwi, the Hawaiian ethnomusicology program, which airs Sundays at 6 pm on HPR-1.
On the classical music side, Olivia Waring is the new Thursday and Friday host of Evening Concert on HPR-2. Waring comes to HPR from the WGBH family of stations in Boston, where she also served as a classical music host. She is a linguistics PhD student at UH Mānoa, where she is studying endangered language documentation and revitalization. Previously, she was an intern at NPR, and has worked in software development, journalism, and education. Originally from New Jersey, Waring grew up playing the violin, singing in choirs, and performing in musicals.
“I’m delighted to join the HPR team, and I look forward to sharing my love of classical music and guinea pig trivia with listeners in Hawai‘i,” Waring said.
Bridging the Gap airs weeknights, 10 pm - 12 am on HPR-1. Evening Concert airs weeknights, 6 - 8 pm on HPR-2. Both programs can also be streamed on the free HPR app (available on iOS and Android), and on hawaiipublicradio.org. Past episodes of Bridging the Gap can also be found on hawaiipublicradio.org.
