Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra

Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra principal oboist Gustav Highstein plays Mozart’s Oboe Concerto in C major, K. 314 on Sunday. During a busy week of rehearsals, Highstein visited Classical Pacific to reflect on past teachers, the value of mentorship, and bringing music to life with friends.

Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra’s Michael-Thomas Foumai talks about M&M. No, not the candy. But rather, two ground-breaking composers: Mozart and Mahler. Foumai provides insight on two works by these composers being performed at the next HSO concert featuring two Gustavs.

Michael-Thomas Foumai of the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra previewed two concerts this week that are sure to spread some holiday cheer. The Hapa Holiday Extravaganza will feature Natalie Ai Kamauu along with dancing, storytelling, Santa, and more. Home Alone in Concert will feature a screening of the beloved holiday movie classic with the HSO performing the film score composed by John Williams. Listen to Foumai's conversation with Craig DeSilva on Evening Concert. And find out why he didn’t enjoy sitting on Santa’s lap as a toddler.

Dane Lam was hired in 2023 as the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra's first music director. Without this extension, his contract would have expired in 2028.

Virtuoso violinist Jinjoo Cho is back in Honolulu to perform Brahmsʻ Violin Concerto with the Hawai`i Symphony Orchestra. The musician, writer, Professor and founder of ENCORE Chamber Music Institute shares her view from the stage, and her thoughts on the future of classical music.

Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra composer-in-residence Michael-Thomas Foumai joined Morning Café to preview this Friday’s concert at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. The evening features Elgar’s Enigma Variations, Brahms’ Violin Concerto with Jinjoo Cho, and the Hawaiʻi premiere of Gillian Karawe Whitehead’s Tūranganui, inspired by the first meeting between Captain Cook and Māori tribes.

Composer Logyn Okuda returns to Classical Pacific with updates on his career, orchestrating for composer Michael Giacchino on Butterfly, The Fantastic Four, and most recently, the upcoming Zootopia 2. Okuda will back home in the islands this week as one of 5 Hawai`i composers featured in the Hawai`i Symphony Orchestraʻs Symphony of the Hawai`i Seas. https://www.logynokuda.commyhso.org

Composer in Residence of the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra, Michael-Thomas Foumai brings his favorite music for the Ocean as we celebrate our Hawai`i Symphony Orchestraʻs Symphony of the Hawaiʻi Seas. The multi-media concert features Hawaiʻi Composers Takuma Itoh, Justin Park, Logyn Okuda, and Foumai.

Justin Park is a composer based in California, and is one of five Hawaiʻi Composers featured this week with the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra. The Kamehameha Schools - Kapalama and Berklee College of Music graduate says that writing music is rewarding, and hopes that as we listen to the "Symphony of the Hawaiʻi Seas," that we will remember our experiences being in the ocean, and that it will spark inspiration to make our environment a better place to live in.

Composer and Educator Herb Mahelona talks with Classical Pacific host Sharene Taba about Symphony of the Hawai‘i Seas, the upcoming free concert of the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra that combines local composers, storytelling and animation. Mahelona lives in Hilo and is a composer of operas, most recently for his students at The Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi Campus.