Some of the world’s finest performers of fine music and dance once again have Hilo in their travel plans. They will be part of the Hawaii Concert Society’s 2014-15 season, which begins next month and runs until the end of March 2015.
Some of the world’s finest performers of fine music and dance once again have Hilo in their travel plans. They will be part of the Hawaii Concert Society’s 2014-15 season, which begins next month and runs until the end of March 2015.
The season was announced at the annual membership meeting of the Hawai`i Concert Society on August 10. Seven concerts are scheduled, all at the U.H. Hilo Performing Arts Center and all starting at 7:30 p.m. As usual, the international artists who will perform in Hilo range from those who are already acknowledged as some of the world’s greatest, to gifted young artists who are just now beginning to achieve international recognition.
The season-opening concert on Thursday, September 18, by Chamber Music Hawaii, includes a potpourri of chamber ensembles and provides an opportunity to hear some of the great chamber music written for less common groupings of instruments. Among the offerings will be Hummel’s magnificent “Septet in D minor” (for piano, viola, cello, bass, flute, oboe, and horn).
That concert will be followed on October 22 by the New York-based Stars of American Ballet, with some of America’s leading dancers performing classics (including dances from Swan Lake), music from Broadway, and much more, with many of the pieces choreographed by the incomparable Balanchine.
On November 19, back by popular demand, is the Danish ensemble, Trio con Brio (violin, cello, and piano), which has given sparkling concerts in two recent Concert Society seasons.
In the New Year, on January 15, the Concert Society presents one of the great pianists of our time and a veteran of the international concert stage, Jon Kimura Parker. His technique, wrote
the music critic of the Seattle Times, “verges on the frankly impossible.”
Parker’s concert will be followed by two contrasting string quartets, from Harlem and from Vienna. The renowned Harlem Quartet, which performs on February 13, advances diversity in classical music while engaging new audiences with a varied repertoire that includes works by minority composers. Its Hilo concert will include music ranging from Haydn and Borodin to Billy Strayhorn, Chick Corea, and Wynton Marsalis.
The award-winning Minetti Quartett, termed “a musical sensation” following its Berlin debut in 2009, has followed through with highly praised concerts throughout Europe, the Americas, and the Far East. Their Islands tour includes a concert in Hilo on March 5.
The season will end on March 31 with one of the finest men’s vocal chamber ensembles in the world, New York Polyphony, whose innovative programming ranges from austere medieval melodies to cutting edge contemporary compositions.
The season brochure providing additional information is now available. As in the past, season tickets may be ordered using the form in the brochure, or by using the order form at www.hawaiiconcertsociety.com). Full season tickets are $144 for general admission, $116 for seniors (60+), and $57 for students; each is a 20 percent savings off box-office prices. Ticket orders for any custom-designed mini-series of at least four concerts also may be specified and also are available at reduced prices.
The brochure, which has been mailed to past and present Society members, previous season ticket holders, and a large number of Hilo residents and businesses, is available at the East Hawaii Cultural Center or by phoning 959-4064 or 935-5831. To obtain tickets by return mail before the first concert, orders should be received on or before September 10.
As a new feature this season, tickets for up to three school children (grades 1-12) who are accompanied by an adult are $5 each, for all concerts except Stars of American Ballet. This reduced price is only available at the Box Office on the night of each performance.
The Hawaii Concert Society acknowledges it members and corporate sponsors, and the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts for helping to make the 2014-15 season possible.