Enjoy ‘A Century of Hapa-Haole Songs’ at Palace Theater ADVERTISING Enjoy ‘A Century of Hapa-Haole Songs’ at Palace Theater The first Hawaiians came to Hawaii with rhythms and chants. The foreigners (haole) who came later brought harmonies and chords. Early
Enjoy ‘A Century of Hapa-Haole Songs’ at Palace Theater
The first Hawaiians came to Hawaii with rhythms and chants. The foreigners (haole) who came later brought harmonies and chords. Early in the 19th century, those elements of music were joined together: first in hymns, then in popular songs. By the beginning of the 20th century, when the world’s attention turned to Hawaii, songs that sounded half (hapa) Hawaiian and half “haole” became all the rage.
When they were new, these songs were performed on vaudeville stages, sung in clubs and cabarets, played on ocean liners, broadcast over the radio, and showcased in movies. They were also published as sheet music, illustrated with colorful covers, for people to sing at home around a piano. Now these wonderful songs are coming to the stage of Hilo’s historic Palace Theater, performed by local singers and dancers at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sunday.
“A Century of Hapa-Haole Songs” is a benefit for the Palace Theater, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary.
General admission is $15; reserved seats start at $20. Prices are higher on the day of the show.
Call 934-7010 for tickets, or visit the Palace Box Office weekdays between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Classical music concert benefits Island Swing Orchestra
Vocalist Kauilani Trainer and pianist Annu Shionoya present “A Classical Music Affair” May 30 at Museum of Contemporary Art in Hilo.
A portion of the proceeds from the event, which gets underway at 6 p.m., benefits Island Swing Orchestra, a nonprofit group that benefits music lovers statewide.
Trainer and Shionoya have been working together for the past year on regular classical repertoire at Le Magic Pan Restaurant in Hilo. “A Classical Music Affair” will include opera aria, German lieder, art song and Hawaiian classics. It is the duo’s first concert at the Museum of Contemporary Art, which is located off Kalakaua Street.
It will feature crowd favorites from the operas of Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In the lieder category will be such songs as “Zueignung” by Richard Strauss and “Ein Traum.” Art song favorites will include the humorous “The Green Dog” by Herbert Kingsley, “A Little China Figure” by Franco Leoni and the beautiful “Beau Soir” by Claude Debussy.
The concert will conclude with “Kamehameha Waltz” and the ever popular “Aloha Oe” to honor Trainer’s Hawaiian heritage.
Trainer, a Molokai girl who sings on the Big Island, has a lengthy resume including playing Mary in the Palace Theater’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar and Madame de la Grande Bouche in Kilauea Drama and Entertainment Networks’s production of Beauty and the Beast. As a versatile vocalist, she has performed with The Eastside Ladies of Jazz, fondly known as the Divas, Girls Nite Out and Marius Stranger’s Island Swing Orchestra, an 18-member big band. She was also winner in the 2005 Hawaii Public Radio Art Song Contest and won the first Hilo Talent Contest in 2010 singing opera. For the past seven years, she has been the soprano soloist for the annual Messiah Sing Along with Tom McAlexander and the Hilo Community Choir, a soloist for Beethoven’s 9th symphony at the UH Performing Arts Center and has performed for numerous community events including the Fukushima Kids Hawaii House, Songs We Love To Sing and the Waimea Cherry Blossom Festival.
Tickets are $25 for general admission and $12.50 for students and seniors. Purchase tickets by calling 339-8598, visiting eventbrite.com/e/a-classical-music-affair-tickets-16668099735, or at the door.
