The Conversation

Musical duo to host concert and donation drive on Maui

Hawaiʻi Public Radio | By Catherine Cruz

Published August 17, 2023 at 9:49 AM HST

For nearly 25 years, Ebb and Flow Arts has been a mainstay in the Hawaiʻi music community. This weekend, the non-profit will present Duo Diorama in concert, featuring pianist Winston Choi and violinist MingHuan Xu.

Choi and Xu are a husband-and-wife team who have previously performed in HPR's Atherton Studio. The two run respective programs — piano and strings — at Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts.

Choi described music as a way to "soothe the soul," especially in times of adversity.

Crosses honoring the victims killed in a recent wildfire hang on a fence along the Lahaina Bypass as a Hawaiian flag flutters in the wind in Lahaina, Hawaii, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. Two weeks after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century swept through the Maui community of Lahaina, authorities say anywhere between 500 and 1,000 people remain unaccounted for. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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"Some of the music will be hopeful to our listeners, maybe give them some inspiration, something to kind of hang on to," he said. "That can be a way of coping and dealing with some of the pain that we're all going through."

The performance will take place on Saturday, Aug. 19, at Keawalaʻi Church in Kīhei, Maui. Any donations for the Duo Diorama concert will go to the Maui Food Bank.

This interview aired on The Conversation on August 15, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.

For more information on how you can help fire recovery efforts, go here.