Ian Capps

Ian Capps is creator and host of The Early Muse, a weekly program of Hawaiʻi Public Radio which has been on air continuously since December 2004. The program explores the development of Western Music over the 500 years from the 12th through the 17th centuries. He has been an active volunteer in HPR's Music Department since coming to the Islands in 2002.

A native Londoner, Ian graduated from Oxford University and worked as an editor and executive for Reuters and other global news organizations, living and working in many different countries over nearly 40 years. He retired in 2001 after 9 years as President and CEO of the New-York-based global news distributor PR Newswire. He and his wife Jeannette, a native of Hawai'i, graduate of UH and also an HPR volunteer, met while singing Renaissance music in New York and now sing with several groups in Honolulu. Ian is also President of Early Music Hawaii, a non-profit which presents concerts by leading local and international performers of medieval, renaissance and baroque music in Hawai'i.

"As an amateur singer, I have been lucky enough to work with outstanding groups in major cities around the world and with many individuals who have moved on to successful musical careers," says Ian. "Early on in my travels, I discovered that music, as a universal language, is a great introduction to a new society. And that the voice is the easiest instrument to take with you wherever you go.”