Do It! TGIF peeps the best in arts and entertainment
—Courtesy photo
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11
Acclaimed quartet makes island debut
They’re working hard in the picture above, but the Doric String Quartet has plenty to smile about. The British ensemble’s star is rising in the classical music scene, and the group makes its Hawaii debut today at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, as part of the Honolulu Chamber Music Series.
The quartet formed in 1998. Its international reputation took flight in 2008, when Doric won the prestigious Osaka International Chamber Music Competition in Japan, placed second at the Premio Paolo Borciani International String Quartet Competition in Italy, and won the ensemble prize at the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany.
They’ve made a series of critically acclaimed CD’s since then, with a recording of Haydn named “Editor’s Choice” by both Gramophone Magazine and Classical FM Magazine. Their take on works by Erich Korngold, a composer most noted for his film scores, are described by Gramophone as “alive to every nuance and turn of phrase.” They’re also known for a striking presence on stage in their “Men in Black” suits.
Their program here includes Haydn, Korngold and Schubert’s lovely String Quartet in A minor, also known as the “Rosamunde” quartet.
A pre-concert talk with the musicians is planned for 6:30 p.m..
Where: Doris Duke Theatre, Honolulu Academy of Arts, 900 S. Beretania St.
When: 7:30 p.m. today
Cost: $40-45
Info: 532-8768
— Steven Mark
Performance relevant to Veterans Day
Timing, as the saying goes, is everything, especially in regards to Haydn’s “Mass in D minor,” and we’re not talking rhythm or tempo here. The work is appropriate for a patriotic gathering during troubled times.
Haydn himself called it a “Missa in Angustiis,” (Mass for Troubled Times) and it is full of dark, brooding tones. He had written it as Napoleon was laying siege to much of Europe. Admiral Horatio Nelson, however, snatched victory from the jaws of defeat when he defeated Napoleon’s forces in the Battle of the Nile. The mass premiered a few weeks later and quickly became associated with victory and triumph.
The Oahu Choral Society is performing what came to be known as the “Lord Nelson Mass,” along with other patriotic works for a Veterans Day concert today at St. Andrew’s Cathedral. Director Esher Yoo, pictured, leads the Honolulu Symphony Chorus, Hawaii Pacific University’s International Vocal Ensemble, musicians from the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, and soloists Rachel Schutz, Anna Mooy, Guy Merola and Nicholas Walters.
Where: St. Andrew’s Cathedral, 229 Queen Emma Square
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $15-$20
Info: www.oahuchoral.org or 808-735-4311
— S.M.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12
—Courtesy photo
Unusual band performs poetry with music created with rock instruments
At Sea is a rare band in the Honolulu music scene. In a town where audiences respond more to the loud, proud and sexy, this group prefers whispery, dreamlike sounds and incantations, but by this provocative disinterest in following “the rules,” the band holds its own captivating power.
At Sea has changed it up since its first incarnation (read more about that in Sabrina Velazquez’s music blog, “Scene + Heard,” at honolulupulse.com), and now features Yvonne Harada’s vocals. But the searching group continues to create musical poetry with rock instruments (three guitars, bass and drums), and is unabashedly, intellectually romantic (“shoegaze” if you will), citing Debussy’s anguish over George Sand, Dante’s “Inferno” relived in The Cure’s “Pornography,” the most heartfelt tear in “The Passion of Joan of Arc” and aiming to capture fading waves and moving shadows with pretty, noisy sound. This Tuesday show at Anna O’Brien’s in Moiliili offers a different experience in live music for adventurous local audiences. Fellow travelers Makua Valley Blast Test and Moon Occults The Sun are also on the bill.
Where: Anna O’Brien’s, 2440 S. Beretania St.
When: 9 p.m. Tuesday
Cost: $5, 21 and over
Info: 946-5190
— Elizabeth Kieszkowski
FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11 & 12
—Courtesy photo
Fringe Festival sports 25 acts
Oahu’s first full-fledged Fringe Festival continues this weekend with alternative artistic performances — 25 of them, in fact — at three Chinatown venues.
Check the schedule at www.oahufringe.com, because there is a lot to choose from, including “The Set Up,” a experiment in extravagant musical musings at 10 p.m. today at The ARTS at Marks Garage, and “American Mixed Tape,” exploring Asian-American identity via pop music at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Ong King Arts Center.
Storytelling gets plenty of action with events like “Cemetery Golf,” a solo performance in which Jim Loucks conjures up the deep South at 7 p.m. today at Ong King; and “My Mobster,” in which Joy Nash recounts the true story of her romance with a foreign criminal at 10 p.m. Saturday at The ARTS at Marks Garage.
Alternative forms of dance and theater get their due in “Identities in Motion” at 8:30 p.m. Saturday at Ong King. The Convergence Dance Theatre performs its newest collaborative project, “What’s In a Name,” a humorous take on the childhood chant “stick and stones may break my bones but words cannot hurt me” at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at ARTSmith.
The Cherry Blossom Cabaret, meanwhile, offers an “Ode to Vaudeville” with skits, burlesque, song and dance at 10 p.m. today and Saturday at ARTSmith.
Where: The Arts at Marks Garage, 1159 Nuuanu Ave.; ARTSmith, 1116 Smith St. No. 215; and the Ong King Arts Center, 184 N. King St.
When: Various times
Cost: $5-$10
Info: www.oahufringe.com
