The Hawaii Symphony Orchestra will launch its inaugural season this weekend at the Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall in Honolulu.
The orchestra’s debut performance, set for 4 p.m. on Sun. March 4, will mark the return of symphonic music to Oahu after a quiet stretch of about two years.
About a year ago, the 110-year-old Honolulu Symphony folded. Prior to its liquidation due to debt-related matters, the symphony operated under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for about a year and cancelled all of its concerts.
In the aftermath of the liquidation a group of Hawaii business leaders announced their intention to bring back the music. Among the group’s members: Oswald Stender, an Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee who is now serving as director of the new Board of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra.
In a recent news release issued by the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, Stender said: “It is our belief that having a symphony orchestra organization in Hawaii is critical to the state’s artistic and economic vitality.” He continued, “We are all thrilled to be making the dream of a new orchestra a reality.”
Maestra JoAnn Falletta (pictured, right) is serving as artistic advisor for the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra’s 2012 masterworks series. Falletta, music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Virginia Symphony, has put together a series that includes the return of guest conductor, Naoto Otomo and longstanding Hawaii favorites, such as cellist Zuill Bailey and pianist Jon Kimura Parker. The series will feature popular works ranging from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony to Brahms Piano Concerto and Rodrigo’s Guitar Concerto.click here.
