KPO Features Hawai‘i Youth in ‘En Pointe Brilliance’
The Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra (KPO) continues its 2018-19 Concert Season with En Pointe Brilliance at the Kahilu Theatre in Waimea on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019, at 4 p.m.
The concert will feature performances by the winners of KPO’s annual Madeline Schatz-Harris Youth Concerto Competition.
Three award-winning soloists will be accompanied by the full Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra:
Second-time winner Isabella Liu will perform an expressive rendition of Ludwig van Beethoven’s masterful Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, op. 15, mvt. 1.
Flutist Kiana Kawahara’s will deliver a “beguiling” performance of Cecile Chaminade’s rhapsodic, romantic Concertino for Flute and Orchestra, op. 107.
Trumpeter Davan Sagara’s will present and “energetic and exciting” version of Trumpet Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra, a showpiece for trumpeters by Alexander Arutunian.
Also on the program are Amilcare Ponchielli’s whimsical Dance of the Hours and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake (suite), Op. 20a.
Joining the orchestra on stage during En Pointe Brilliance will be dancers from West Hawaii Dance Theatre & Academy (WHDTA), as well as Guest Principal Dancers Shaina Leisbson and Joseph La Chance, who will perform during the Ponchielli and Tchaikovsky pieces.
En Pointe Brilliance is the second collaboration between the KPO and WHDTA this season; members of KPO provided music for West Hawaii Dance Theatre & Academy’s production of The Nutcracker Ballet in December 2018.
After getting to know WHDTA Director Virginia Holte and learning about her studio’s mission to provide education and training for students of multiple dance and theatre disciplines, Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra Artistic Director Brian Dollinger programmed this concert specifically to create an opportunity for this type of collaborative performance.
Dollinger sees the orchestra’s mission as promoting all disciplines of the arts, not only music, and is excited about creating a program that showcases young students in Hawai‘i with various talents. He
hopes participating in this particular concert will have a great impact on both the young dance students of the WHDTA, who usually perform to prerecorded music or piano accompaniment, and the young instrumentalists who won the orchestra’s concerto competition, who have few opportunities to play as soloists with an orchestra.
Tickets for En Pointe Brilliance are $50, $40, $30 and $15 and may be purchased online or through the Kahilu Theatre Box Office by calling (808) 885-6868 or by visiting the box office at 67-1186 Lindsey Road in Kamuela, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
The Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra’s presentation of En Pointe Brilliance is made possible with su port by The Dorrance Family Foundation.
About the Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra
The Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra (KPO) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing live, high-quality orchestral music to audiences on Hawai‘i Island. KPO celebrates and promotes the timeless beauty of classical music, as well as the rich cultural and musical traditions of the Hawaiian people. The orchestra is a charitable organization as described in Section 501(c)(3). Those who wish to contribute to this endeavor, either financially or in other ways, are encouraged to contact the KPO either through its website or at P.O. Box 2597, Kamuela, HI 96743.