The Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra Society is proud to announce the “virtual” return of the orchestra with all its various families of instruments represented in a special streamed concert performance.
It has been 16 months since the Kamuela Philharmonic performed its last MasterWorks performance at the Kahilu Theater in Waimea. On Sunday, May 16, at 2:00 p.m., the Philharmonic will be streaming new performances of a wide variety of music types for the entire state of Hawaii and beyond.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philharmonic was subject to health restrictions like the rest of the world which made it virtually impossible for the organization to present large-scale performances.
“We have especially missed the pleasure and honor of bringing live performances of beautiful symphonic music to you for more than a year, but we are now fortunate to be able to bring you this wonderful, streaming concert showcasing four different instrumental ensembles from our orchestra,” shares Joel Gimpel, violinist, and President of the board of directors for the orchestra.
“Countless performing arts organizations around the world have been decimated by this pandemic. Musicians have not been able to play; dancers unable to dance; and singers unable to sing together due to the myriad of federal, state, and local restrictions for us all to remain safe during this pandemic,” Artistic Director and Conductor, Brian Dollinger, continues, “but the Philharmonic is very fortunate to have such die-hard supporters that have kept us viable throughout these past months. Taking advantage of the wonderful natural climate of the island proved of immense help to us.”
During the pandemic, many musicians of the Philharmonic were able to perform together at various outdoor facilities around the island. This was a very bright spot for the musicians, the organization, and the communities during these precarious times.
The concert home of the Philharmonic is the Kahilu Theater in Waimea and during the pandemic, they also made pivotal improvements to their technological capabilities. Acquiring numerous 4K digital cameras, high-end audio recording equipment, and computer infrastructure has played a huge role in this return of the Philharmonic. “I am so thrilled that we will now have this amazing technology to help the Philharmonic reach so much more of Hawaii Island and beyond. Being able to bring great symphonic music as digital content throughout our communities is very important to me as artistic director and as an educator,” describes Dollinger.
To make major portions of this project feasible, Maestro Dollinger wore many different hats. From his artistic decisions on the programming of the repertoire that was performed and the rehearsing/coaching of many of these works to creating his arrangements of music for performance on this concert and using his computer skills with the technical side of the final video production, he was determined to making every step of this program a success.
“Being able to stream into the homes, schools and portable devices, with amazing video clarity and audio refinement, is such a wondrous gift to come out of this pandemic. Making music with my Hawaii ohana that includes brass instruments, woodwinds, percussion, and string musicians was very fulfilling for me. Sixteen months is a very long time to be away from something we love doing, and we are looking ahead to being able to present concerts with live audiences as well,” declared Maestro Dollinger.
President of the board of directors Gimpel continues, “We’re also looking forward to being able to return to the Kahilu Theatre next season with live performances of symphonic music for your musical pleasure.”
“I am very grateful to everyone who was paramount to the success of this project; the musicians; the Kahilu administration and technical crew; the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts; and our grant writer who was able to successfully write the application for the funds from the state, Brenda McConnell,” Dollinger continued, “there is only so much one person can do, but with an organization with people all working for the same goals, anything can be achieved.”
To take advantage of this FREE streaming concert by the KPOS, visit their website at: www.kamuelaphil.org on May 16.
Funding for the project came from the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.
Connect with the Kamuela Philharmonic
Website: http://www.kamuelaphil.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KamuelaPhilharmonicOrchestra/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kamuela.philharmonic/
Brian Dollinger website: www.briandollinger.com