The inaugural Ke'alohi International Piano Competition Presented by Aloha International Piano Festival June 15 - 22, 2022 University of Hawaii - Orvis Auditorium and Blaisdell Concert Hall
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Greetings from Lisa Nakamichi, Founder/ Artistic Director, Aloha International Piano Festival ALOHA! It is with great honor that I welcome you to the inaugural Ke’alohi International Piano Competition. Since the inception of the Aloha International Piano Festival in 2006, my dream was to establish a major international piano competition collaborating with Hawaii’s very own, the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. The realization of the Ke’alohi International Piano Competition would not have been possible without the understanding of Dave Moss, President and CEO of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. Dave and I shared the same vision that while it seemed an impossible goal to create – in a state widely known for its hula, ukulele and beaches – that Hawaii has a worldclass orchestra and an international piano festival capable of hosting a major world-class international piano competition on par with existing prominent competitions around the world. Today, it’s a dream come true. The Aloha International Piano Festival (AIPF), with tremendous support from Dave Moss and the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, is excited to present the inaugural Ke’alohi International Piano Competition for pianists of all nationalities ages 18 – 29, taking place June 15 - 22, 2022 at Orvis Auditorium and Blaisdell Concert Hall in Honolulu, Hawaii. The final round of competition will culminate in a concerto performance by the finalists with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. A competition of this magnitude is not possible without the support of our wonderful patrons, donors, volunteers and supporting organizations. But above all, the inaugural Ke’alohi International Piano Competition would not have realized without the 15 competitors selected from around the world invited to the live competition in Honolulu. I extend my gratitude and a warm welcome to our competitors who have traveled in great distance to participate in the Competition. Our community is extremely fortunate for the opportunity to listen and marvel at the world-class playing from not only one, but 15 of them, right here in Honolulu. I encourage you to attend the Competition and join us in the excitement for it will be an experience you will never forget! Finally, I am extremely grateful to our world-renowned artists who will serve on the jury of the Competition – Mr. Alan Chow (Eastman), Mr. Norman Krieger (Indiana), Mr. Jon Nakamatsu (Van Cliburn gold medalist/San Francisco Conservatory), and Ms. Haesun Paik (New England Conservatory). It truly is a great honor to welcome you to Hawaii. In the Hawaiian language, Ke’alohi, means “brightest star.” It is said that this brightest star can only be seen during a certain time of the year. With the Ke’alohi International Piano Competition, we will discover a bright star who will share their artistry and shine in beautiful Hawaii. I look forward to seeing you throughout the week and mahalo for supporting AIPF 2022!
About the Aloha International Piano Festival
Founded in 2006 by pianist Lisa Nakamichi, the Aloha International Piano Festival (AIPF) is a non-profit organization committed to educating Hawaii’s students and teachers. AIPF addresses three main needs: the need for music teacher training, the need for low-cost music concerts and music education opportunities, and the need for high-caliber classes and lessons for piano students. The mission of the AIPF is to promote musical enrichment, innovation and diversity through a nationally-recognized education program, music festival, concerts, teacher enrichment workshops, and competition. AIPF strives to elevate the standards of music education in Hawaii while offering the rare opportunity for Hawaii’s students to be able to study with the most revered concert pianists and teachers from around the world. As a result of volunteer efforts and work to minimize administrative costs, AIPF has consistently offered programs at low and affordable rates for more than a decade. AIPF is the only opportunity for Hawaii’s young pianists to participate in a world-class music festival and competition in their home state. Through our educational programs, free events, recitals and concerts, not only Hawaii’s youth, but students from around the world gain confidence and are inspired to pursue their dreams – either at the keyboard or in their chosen vocation.
Prizes Carolyn Berry Wilson First Prize $10,000 Second Prize $5,000 Third Prize $3,000 Ellen Masaki Memorial Prize $1,000
Ke’alohi International Piano Competition Schedule Wednesday, June 15, 2022, 10am – 12pm, 2pm - 5pm. University of Hawaii, Orvis Auditorium Preliminary Round – Day 1. 30 minutes solo recital program. 8 of the 15 top pianists selected to compete in the Ke’alohi International Piano Competition will perform 30 minutes of solo recital program in day 1 of the preliminary round. FREE ADMISSION Thursday, June 16, 2022, 1pm - 5:30pm. University of Hawaii, Orvis Auditorium Preliminary Round – Day 2. 30 minutes solo recital program. 7 of the 15 top pianists selected to compete in the Ke’alohi International Piano Competition will perform 30 minutes of solo recital program in day 2 of the preliminary round. 6 semifinalists will be announced following the competition. FREE ADMISSION Sunday, June 19, 2022, 1pm – 6pm. University of Hawaii, Orvis Auditorium Semifinal Round. Complete piano concerto with second piano accompaniment. 6 semifinalists advancing to this round will perform a complete piano concerto accompanied by a second piano. Semifinalists are accompanied by Dr. Jonathan Korth – Professor of Piano at University of Hawaii Music, and opera coach and pianist, Mr. Maika’i Nash. 3 finalists will be announced following the competition. $10 GENERAL ADMISSION Wednesday, June 22, 2022, 7:30pm. Blaisdell Concert Hall. Final Round with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. 3 finalists who have advanced to this exciting round will perform a complete piano concerto with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. Who will take home the gold medal? Don’t miss the thrilling finale of the inaugural Ke’alohi International Piano Competition! $10 GENERAL ADMISSION
COMPETITORS
Elzbieta Bilicka
Poland
Beethoven: Sonata Op. 2 No. 3 in C major, I. Allegro con brio Liszt: Tarantella Venezia e Napoli Szymanowski: Etude Op. 4 No. 2 in G-flat major Ravel: La valse, M. 72 Concerto: Prokofiev Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26
Elzbieta has performed solo and with orchestras in many cities of her native Poland, as well as in Italy, Austria, Switzerland and USA. Her recitals have been featured on BBC Radio, Central New York’s Classic FM, Polish Radio Koszalin and Polish TV Culture. In July 2021, Centaur Records released her debut CD: Lights and shadows, which was greeted with high critical acclaim. American Records Guide called it "a wonderful CD debut", Fanfare Magazine praised its "strong poetic streak" and Classical Sentinel exclaimed: “Now, that's musicianship!”. Elzbieta is a prizewinner of various international piano competitions. The latest of them are: 1st prize at the 2nd G-clef International Music Competition in South Korea, (2021), 1st prize at the Walled City Music International Piano Competition in Derry, Northern Ireland (2020), 1st prize at the Putra International Piano Competition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2020), laureate title at the 10th International Ignacy Jan Paderewski Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz, Poland, (2016) and 3rd prize at the Polish Chopin Piano NIFC Competition in Katowice, Poland (2016). In March 2022, she participated in the second round of the Hilton Head International Piano Competition. In 2018, she was awarded the ‘Young Poland’ Scholarship of the Polish Minister of Culture. Elzbieta holds a Master of Arts degree in Piano Performance from the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz (class of Katarzyna PopowaZydron, Agata Nowakowska-Gumiela and Alberto Nose). She is currently a DMA candidate at her Polish alma mater. Between 2016 and 2018, she studied under Nelson Goerner at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Geneve in Switzerland. Elzbieta has been serving as an Adjunct Professor at the Caine College of the Arts at Utah State University in Logan (UT) since May 2019.
Misha Galant
USA
Scarlatti: Sonata in A major, K. 208 Haydn: Sonata in C major, Hob. XVI / 50, I. Allegro Scriabin: Sonata No. 5, Op. 53 Rachmaninoff: Lilacs, Op. 21 No. 5 Rachmaninoff: Etude-Tableaux in D major op. 39 no. 9 Concerto: Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23
Born to a family of musicians, Misha Galant began piano lessons at the age of six and continued for 18 years with his mother, Olya Katsman. Throughout high school, he received guidance and coaching from Sharon Mann and Yoshikazu Nagai of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He is a graduate of Columbia University, where he studied piano with Joseph Kalichstein through the Columbia-Juilliard Exchange while also pursuing degrees in Data Science and Russian Literature. He currently studies with Professor Tatiana Zelikman at the Gnesin Academy of Music in Moscow and with Dr. Yu-Jane Yang at Weber State University in Ogden, UT. Misha has performed with the Fort Worth, Rochester, Utah, and Oakland symphonies, among others. In the summer of 2016, he joined California Youth Symphony on a tour of Austria and Italy with performances of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Misha is a prizewinner of the first inaugural Van Cliburn Junior Competition and of the Eastman Piano Competition in 2015, and, most recently, he was chosen as one of two Gilmore Young Artists for 2020. In March of 2022, Misha performed a concert to help the plight of the Ukrainian people which raised $8500 for this cause. Beyond his musical and academic endeavors, he enjoys hiking and mountain running and swam for the Columbia University swim team, a D1 team that trains twenty hours per week.
Ji Youn Lee South Korea
Haydn: Sonata in E Major, Hob. XVI / 31 I. Moderato, II. Allegretto, III. Presto Messiaen: Quatre Etudes de rythme no.1 ill de feu 1 Rachmaninoff: Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op.42 Concerto: Beethoven Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 19
Ji Youn Lee began playing at the age of five. Her numerous succcesses in piano competitions include top prizes in New England Conservatory Concerto competition, Jacob Filer Piano competition, Ewha Kyounghyang Music competition, Korea Chopin Competition. She has appearances in solo recitals and concert series at many concert venues in United States and South Korea such as Jordan Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Seoul Arts Center. Ji Youn is also activate as an avid Chamber musician. Her quintet was the youngest semi-finalist at Osaka International Chamber Music Competition. They were selected as the first group of goodwill artists on aiding Cambodian refugees. In addition to her studies, she has participated in Piano summer at New Paltz, Orford Music Festival, Bowdoin Festival and Dino Ciani Festival. She studied her undergraduate at New England Conservatory under the tutelage of Dang Thai Son and HaeSun Paik and currently she is pursuing her master degree at The Juilliard School.
Yi-Ting Tsai Taiwan
Haydn: Sonata in C minor, Hob. XVI / 20 Schumann: Fantasy in C Major, Op. 17, I. Durchaus phantastisch und leidenschaftlich vorzutragen Matičič: 12 Etudes for Piano, Op. 30, No. 8, Allegro vivace Concerto: Prokofiev Concerto No. 1 in D flat major, Op. 10
A native of Taiwan, Yi-Ting Tsai is currently pursuing her Doctoral of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance, studying with Dr. Yi-Yang Chen. She earned her Master’ and bachelor’s degrees in Piano Performance at Tunghai University, one of the finest music schools in Taiwan, studying with Dr. Thomas Linde, and received the honorary membership of The Phi Tau Phi Scholastic Honor Society. Her other primary professors include Dr. Steven Spooner and Dr. Eric Zuber. An active performer, Yi-Ting has performed at international music festivals including The Brancaleoni International Music Festival, The Amalfi Coast Music Festival in Italy, and The Prague International Piano Festival in the Czech Republic. She has been selected to perform in masterclasses with Logan Skelton, Stijn de Cock, Geoffrey Duce, and many other well-established musicians. She was one of the finalists in the National Music Competition in Taiwan and a prize winner of the Taichung City Student Competition of Music. As the winner of the Tunghai University School of Music Piano Concerto Competition and KU School of Music Piano Concerto Competition, she has performed with KU Orchestra at the Lied Center of Kansas. Competition, for both of which he reached the semi-final stage.
Born on 15 March 2001 in Taiwan, he is currently a student of Dang Thai Son at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Ohio. He has taken part in many international piano competitions. Recently, he was a quarter-finalist of the 18th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition. In 2018, he won second prize in the Thomas & Evon Cooper International Competition in Oberlin and the jury’s special prize in the 4th Asia-Pacific International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition. He has performed with many orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra and the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. In 2019, he was invited to play George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra at Taiwan’s New Year’s Eve Concert.
Mozart: Sonata in F Major, K. 280, II. Adagio, III. Presto Chopin: Etude in C-sharp minor, Op.10 No.4 Chopin: Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23 Ravel: La valse, M. 72 Concerto: Prokofiev Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16
Kai-Min Chang Taiwan
Qi Qi China Beethoven: Sonata in E flat major, Op. 31 No.3, I. Allegro Chopin: Etude in C major, Op.10 No.1 Rachmaninoff: Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op.36 (1913 edition) I. Allegro agitato, II. Non allegro, III. Allegro molto Concerto: Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23
Qi Qi was born in Guangzhou, China. She began playing the piano at the age of five. Currently, she studies piano with Stanislav Ioudenitch at Oberlin Conservatory. In 2014, she was admitted to the Central Conservatory of Music Middle School in Beijing, where she studied with Dan Shao and Jin Zhang. She has won prizes at several competitions, including the first prize at Canada Rocky Mountain Concerto Competition, the first prize and the audience favorite prize at Kansas City Young Artist Competition, the first prize at Hong Kong International Invitation Piano Competition and the Open Piano Competition in Guangzhou, the third prize at Xinghai Cup National Piano Competition. Qi has performed with the Kansas City Symphony at the distinguished Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts under the baton of Micheal Stern; Volgograd Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Andrey Anikhanov; The Overland Park Orchestra under the baton of Shah Sadikov, and Uzbekistan National Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Alibek Kabdurakhmanov. Over the years, Qi has attended prestigious piano festivals, such as Lake Como Summer Piano School, Minnesota International Piano Camp and China Russian School International Piano Festival in Shanghai. In these programs, Qi has performed concerts in Italy, China, and the United States. Moreover, she has participated in master classes with artists Dmitri Bashkirov, Andrzej Jasiński, Dang Thai Son, William Grant Naboré, Mira Marchenko, Alexander Braginsky, Hyoung Joon Chang and Dan Wen Wei.
Originally from Greenville, SC, Maria Parrini studied piano during childhood with her parents, Sherry and Fabio. She is a proud graduate of the Greenville Fine Arts Center, where she received the Sheffield Wood Award, and the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she earned a Bachelor of Music degree under the instruction of Antonio Pompa-Baldi and Paul Schenly. Since 2018 she has performed more than one thousand concerts as a Lincoln Center Stage Artist, playing chamber music with world-class collaborators onboard Holland America Line cruise ships. Enthusiastic about new music of all kinds, Maria has premiered works by David Rakowski, Jon Grier, and Julián Fueyo. Past summer festival fellowships include Kneisel Hall Chamber Music, Brevard Music Center, Encore Chamber Music, the Music Mountain Masterclasses, USA Cincinnati Young Artists, Philadelphia Intl. Music Festival, and t he S ou t h ea st e r n P i a n o Festival, to which she was invited back to perform on their June 2017 Opening Gala. She has won prizes in the Darius Milhaud Competition at CIM (first prize), the Thousand Islands International Piano Competition (second and third prizes, audience award), the WDAV 89.9 Young Artist Chamber Music Competition (first prize), the Fischoff Competition (honorable mention), and others. She has collaborated with flutist Kate Steinbeck on the Asheville-based Pan Harmonia concert series, and has been featured as a concerto soloist with the Brevard Music Center Orchestra, the Clemson University Symphony Orchestra, the Fountain Inn Symphony Orchestra, and the Greenville County Young Artist Orchestra. At the moment, she is pursuing a Master’s degree in piano performance at Columbus State University, studying with Dr. Henry Kramer, and teaching her own private studio. In her free time she can be found painting, playing tennis, or cooking up a garlicky storm.
Maria Parrini
Schubert: Sonata in D Major, D.850, I. Allegro Debussy: Selections from Études IV. Pour les sixtes, VI. Pour les huit doigts, VIII. Pour les agréments XI. Pour les arpèges composes, XII. Pour les accords Concerto: Prokofiev Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16
Joy Chen
Australia
Rachmaninoff: Étude-Tableaux in C minor, Op.39 No.1 Haydn: Sonata in C Major, Hob. XVI / 48, I. Andante con espressione Rachmaninoff: Sonata No. 2 in B flat Minor, Op. 36 I. Allegro agitato, II. Non allegro, III. Allegro molto Concerto: Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23
Joy Chen began her piano studies at the age of six, and is currently completing a Bachelor of Music (Performance) Honours degree at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, with Dr. Paul Rickard-Ford. Joy was a scholarship recipient of the Sydney Conservatorium Rising Stars Program (2014-2018), Myron Kantor Bequest Scholarhip (2019), and the Henderson Traveller Scholarship (2019,2022). In 2016, Joy attained her L-MusA Diploma with Distinction. And in 2020, Joy has won the Theme and Variations Piano Foundation Award. Throughout the years, Joy has gained many awards in national and international competitions. Including 1st prize in the 1st Shenzhen Piano Open Competition (2011); 2nd prize in the 2nd Shenzhen Piano Open Competition (2012); 1st prize in the 2nd Germany Irmler Piano Competition (2011); 1st prize in the 1st Yamaha China Shenzhen Piano Competition (2012); 2nd prize in Liszt Free Choice Group of the 17th HongKong Asia Piano Open Competition (2012). Joy was also a finalist at the EPTA Competition in Belgium (2014), and was invited to participate in the Mozart Competition in Zhuhai (2015), and the Ettlingen Competition (2020), etc. In 2019, Joy received first prize in the Golden Classical Music Awards, and was invited to play in the Carnegie Hall in 2020. In 2021, Joy received an ‘Honorable Mention’ at the Lancaster International Competition. She was also a finalist at the Nordic International; as well as in the Balys Dvarionas Competition, where she also received the prize for the ‘Best Performance of 20th Century Music’, and ‘Finalist in Absentia’. In 2022, Joy has won the Orbetello Online International Competition with the highest point. Throughout the years, Joy has participated in many masterclasses with world renowned pianists such as Alexander Gavrylyuk, Denes Varjon, Dmitry Onishchenko, Eva Kupiec, Helen Krizos, Inge Rosar, Ingo Danhornn, Justas Dvarionas, Pablo Galdo, Sa Chen, Vyacheslav Gryaznov and Zhaoyi Dan.
A recent highlight of Korean pianist Sua Lee includes her participation as a Fellow in the 2022 Gilmore Piano Festival and her performance of the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 1 as a winner of the 2021 SMTD Undergraduate Concerto Competition with Adrian Slywotzky and the University Philharmonia Orchestra at Hill Auditorium.
Sua Lee
Lee made her concerto debut in the 2013 II International South Korea Festival “Dynasty” and Master Class with Orchestra, performing Chopin Concerto No.1 at Lysenko Hall at Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine in Kyiv, mentored by Oxana Yablonskaya. In Summer 2019, Lee participated in White Nights Piano Festival in Saint Petersburg, in which she shared the first prize in the competition as the youngest participant and performed in Sheremetev Palace. In that December, Lee won the Sixth Rosalyn Tureck Bach Competition (Category 4A) and performed in Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center. She has received masterclass instructions from Kevin Kenner, Boris Berman, Philip Kaiwin, Alexander Kobrin, Jerome Lowenthal, Aviram Reichert, and Paul Schenly. An active collaborative pianist, Lee played in the 2021 Center Stage String Institute at the SMTD. A church pianist since her middle-school years, Lee believes playing music also as an expression of her faith. In 2016, she collaborated with violinist Lishan Wu and released an album of contemporary Christian hymnal arrangements. Currently a fourth-year undergraduate student of Christopher Harding at the University of Michigan, Lee also pursues a minor in German. Speaking four languages and having translated for present-day composer biographies and in masterclasses, Lee seeks to promote music and musicians through various ways.
J. S. Bach: English Suite No. 6 in D Minor, BWV 811: I. Prelude Mozart: Sonata in D Major, K. 284, I. Allegro, III. Tema con variazione Chopin: Etude in E Minor, Op. 25 No. 5 Concerto: Rachmaninov Concerto No. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 1
Moyi Liu China
Born in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China. He has learned to play the piano with Ms. Xin Hu since 4 years old. When he was 7, Liu was taught by Russian Professor Vladimir Zanin in Xi'an Conservatory of Music. 2 years later, Liu was taught by Ms. Bo Pang, and got the first prize in "Golden Sunflower Cup" national youth piano competition (Northwest China) in 2008. In 2009, Liu was accepted by Xi'an Conservatory of Music accessorial middle school, studied with Prof. Minxia Tao, and won the Second prize at the Concerto Competition. In 2015, Liu was accepted by Shanghai Conservatory of Music, taught by Prof. Yun Sun. Since then Liu has won the 2016 Asian Yamaha Scholarship, Niu Ende Scholarship and the third prize of Shanghai Conservatory of Music people scholarship. Liu was praised in many master classes in school by professors such as Boris Slutzky, Dogras Humpherys and William Naboré, etc. In 2019, Liu was accepted by Manhattan School of Music, and studied with Prof. Phillip Kawin. In 2021, Liu received Master of Music degree and graduated from MSM. In the same year, Liu was enrolled in School of Music of Arizona State University. Now he studies with Prof. Robert Hamilton. He won the 2nd Prize of VI Future Stars International Piano Competition in 2021, and the 2nd prize of Liszt Center International Piano Competition in 2022. Beethoven: Sonata in E minor, Op. 90, I. Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck Rachmaninov: Etude-tableaux in C minor, Op. 39 No. 1 Schubert: "Wanderer" Fantasy in C major, D. 760 Concerto: Saint-Saens Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22
historical context of the An artist that “leaves no work. Cont i nui ng h is question about his riveting dynamic exploration of presentation and technical music in-tandem with finesse” (Seattle Times), film, he recently partCanadian pianist Kevin Ahfat is acclaimed to be nered with Riddle Films “poised to become one to release a cinematic perof the young heirs of the formance of Mussorgsky’s classical piano realm, with Pictures at an Exhibition a bold, boundary-pushing, filmed live at Toronto’s millennial style matched Koerner Hall. by ref i ned execut ion” Further highlights include (Vanguard Seattle). Posa return to the Seattle Canada Symphony at Benaroya sessing “a balanced mix Hall for its first-ever Shostakovich Concerto of expressiveness and virtuosity” (Musical Festival, a partnership with Richard Alston America), he “summons plenty of thunder& Juilliard Dance in their recreation of power in the big moments, but clearly values Alston’s Sheer Bravado (2006) in New York, musicianship over mere showmanship” as well as giving the inaugural masterclass (American Record Guide). & recital for the Las Vegas Masterclass SeAhfat continues performances and recordings as the newest core member of the threeries at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. time Grammy-nominated ARC Ensemble, Ahfat has had the privilege of sharing the one of Canada’s preeminent chamber enstage with renowned artists across many genres, including Jean-Yves Thibaudet, SO sembles and foremost cultural forces. Their Percussion, David Finckel, Derek Bermel, latest releases on Chandos Records have and Sonia Rodriguez. Festival appearances been nominated for a 2022 Juno Award, include the Music@Menlo, Rockport, Bow2022 OPUS Klassik Award, as well as being named one of the “Top 10 classical musical doin, Fall for Dance North, Zhuhai, and albums of 2020” by The Boston Globe and Kyoto International Music Festivals. He has one of WQXR’s “Best Classical Albums of been broadcast locally and abroad several 2020”. times on CBC Music’s In Concert program Ahfat was named one of CBC Music’s 30 and WFMT’s Dame Myra Hess Series, and hot Canadian classical musicians under contributed his playing to Yamaha Cana30 in 2018, and that same year was thrilled da’s recent Dear Glenn AI Project. to give the North American Premiere of A two-time winner of the Juilliard ConcerCamille Saint-Saëns’ Third Sonata for Celto Competition, Ahfat completed principal studies at the Juilliard School under the lo and Piano (1919), recently published by tutelage of Joseph Kalichstein and Stephen Bärenreiter-Verlag, with a longtime artistic Hough, and was in-residence as a 2018 Recollaborator, French cellist Juliette Herlin. In anticipation of this premiere, Ahfat filmed & banks Fellow at the Royal Conservatory in produced a mini-documentary titled Soirée Toronto. He is a grateful recipient of a 2019 pour Camille, a short film documenting the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award.
Kevin Ahfat
Brahms: Intermezzo in A major, Op. 118, No. 2 Haydn: Sonata in G major, HOB. XVI / 40 Alban Berg: Sonata, op. 1 Chopin: Etude in C minor, Op. 10, No. 12 Ginastera: Danzas argentinas, op. 2 I: Danza del viejo boyero, II: Danza de la moza donosa, III: Danza del gaucho matrero Concerto: Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23
Kangeun Lee South Korea
Rachmaninoff: Etude-Tableaux in C minor, Op. 39 No. 1 Beethoven: Sonata in F minor, Op. 57 “Appassionata”, I. Allegro assai C. Vine Sonata No. 1 Concerto: Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23
Pianist Kangeun Lee, a native of South Korea, is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music degree under the tutelage of Edward Auer, and she serves as an associate instructor of piano at the Jacobs School of Music. She began playing the piano at the age of four, later made her international debut at Mozarthaus in Vienna, under the guidance of the Austrian pianist Paul Gulda, a son of Friedrich Gulda. She continued having numerous performances in multiple cities, including Budapest, Shenyang, Bloomington, Suwon, Seongnam, Daegu, and Seoul. She completed her undergraduate studies at Seoul National University, where she was granted full scholarship with Eminence Scholarship and Merit-based Scholarship. She graduated with honors (summa cum laude) and was the recipient of the University President’s Award, which is given to only one person from the top every year among all students completing their bachelor’s degree in Music. As she has expanded her horizons, Lee started studying in the United States and earned her master’s degree at the Jacobs School of Music, receiving John Winston Spanier Fellowship for two full years. Previously in Korea, she won prizes at the TBC Music Concours, Suri Music Competition, Sungjung Music Competition, Korea Young Artist Music Competition, the Seoul National Scholarship Competition. She was also invited to celebrate the inauguration of the United States ambassador in Korea held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She recently has been awarded Farwell Trust Award from MCW Scholarship Award Competition and Larry Davis Memorial Award from 2022 NSAL Piano Competition.
Zhiye Lin China
Hailed by the Boston Musical Intelligence as a pianist who “breezed through the most technically difficult bits with impressive panache”, Zhiye Lin is classical pianist who is increasingly being heard in important concert halls. He has performed in many major concert halls in the world, including the Kennedy Center, Ningbo Concert Hall, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Hall, and Shanghai Oriental Art Center. He was the laureate of piano competitions in Tokyo, Spain, West Virginia, New York, and Singapore. He also appeared as soloist with Mercury Orchestra, and the West Virginia University Symphony Orchestra under the batons of Channing Yu and Mitchell Arnold. He earned his Bachelor of Music at the Cleveland Institute of Music and his Master of Music degree at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Hae-Sun Paik and Hung-Kuan Chen. Currently, he is completing the Artist Diploma at the Peabody Institute under Richard Goode’s guidance. Haydn: Sonata in B minor, Hob. XVI / 32 I. Allegro moderato, II. Menuet, III. Finale: Presto Chopin: Etude in G sharp minor, Op. 25 No. 6 Godowsky: Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes by Johann Strauss: No. 2, ‘Die Fledermaus’ Concerto: Prokofiev Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16 Bartok Piano Sonata, Sz. 80 I. Allegro moderato, II. Sostenuto e pesante, III. Allegro molto
Ryota Yamazaki
Japan
Born in Fukushima, Japan, Ryota Yamazaki began piano studies at age seven. He has won numerous awards including 1st prize in the Thomas & Evon Cooper International Competition (2016), Grand Prize and audience prize in the PTNA Piano Competition (2014), 1st prize at the Yasuko Fukuda Scholarship Audition (2013) and 1st prize in the Gina Bachauer International Junior Piano Competition (2012). He has performed with several orchestras including the Cleveland Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra and VYO Youth Orchestra. In 2015-2016 seasons, he has given solo recitals including Tokyo, Osaka, Hawaii and Italy. In the 2017-2018 seasons, he gave solo recitals in Fukushima, Los Angeles and Vienna as well as recording the complete transcendental etudes of Franz Liszt in 2020. In 2017, Ryota enrolled as a full scholarship student at the Toho Gakuen School of Music under the tutelage of Yuko Ninomiya. He is currently studying with Fabio Bidini at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles.
Beethoven: Sonata in A major, Op. 101, I: Allegretto, ma non troppo Liszt: Transcendental Etude S. 139, No. 4, “Mazeppa” Paderewski: Legend in A flat major, Op. 16 No. 1 Liszt: Mephisto Waltz No. 1, S. 514 Concerto: Liszt Concerto No. 1 in E flat major
Jairus Rhoades
USA
A laureate of multiple accolades and honors, Jairus Rhoades has been playing the piano under the tutelage of Joanna Zane Fan for 11 years and is planning on continuing his studies at Yale University in the fall. His accolades include performing in Kea’au, Hawaii (Big Island) for NPR’s From the Top with Christopher O’Riley Show #330, the First Prize in the Steinway Piano Competition Division III (Hawaii State), Third Prize in the Cooper International Piano Festival Competition, Second Prize in the American Protege Competition (where he made his Carnegie Hall debut), and semifinalist prize in the senior division of the Virginia Waring International Piano Festival. Jairus also won the first and most audience prizes in the Young Artist Division of the Aloha International Piano Festival and is also a finalist and prize winner in both solo and duet categories of the Music Teachers National Association competitions. Jairus has performed with the University of Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra, and also has been invited to play at exclusive events such as those with the Shufu Society and the Punahou School and enjoys playing chamber music in his free time as a member of the Chang piano trio and Vaught Piano quintet. Beethoven: Sonata in E flat major, Op. 81a II. Abwesenheit, III. Das Wiedersehen Rachmaninoff: Sonata No. 2 in B flat Minor, Op. 36 I. Allegro agitato, II. Non allegro, III. Allegro molto Chopin: Etude in A Flat Major, Op. 25 No. 1 Concerto: Beethoven Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37
J U R Y Preliminary Video Screening Round
Elisabeth Pridonoff
Haewon Song
Live-round – Honolulu, Hawaii Haesun Paik
Norman Krieger
Jon Nakamatsu Alan Chow
Elisabeth Pridonoff
Elisabeth Pridonoff has appeared with orchestras and on recital series throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Asia and has performed and taught at music festivals throughout the world including the Amalfi, Barcelona, Belgium, Chautauqua, InterHarmony, and since 2007 the Brevard Festival. Artist-in-Residence at David Lipscomb University, she is an Emerita Professor of Piano at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. From 2010 – 2013 she served as co-artistic director of the CCM Prague International Piano Institute with her husband Eugene Pridonoff. A graudate of The Juilliard School, she holds masters degrees in both piano and voice having studied piano with Sasha Gorodnitsky and Adele Marcus, and voice with Hans Heinz and Anna Kaskas. Her former students hold faculty positions throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia and have been first-prize winners in the Horowitz, Missouri Southern, American Pianists Association Biennial Fellowship Auditions, Shreveport Wideman, Midland-Odessa, Pinault International Piano Competition in New York City, and the Catania International Music Festival Concerto Competition. A prolific performer of chamber music, Elisabeth Pridonoff has collaborated with violinists, Ronald Copes, William Fitzpatrick, Masao Kawasaki, Timothy Lees, Steven Moeckel, Tai Murray, Eugen Sarbu, Misha Vitenson, Paul Wolfe, violists Catharine Carroll, Jessica Bodner, cellists Andrew Cox, Paul Katz, Michael Mermagen, Misha Quint, Peter Wiley, Aron Zelkowicz, clarinetist David Shifrin, french hornists Michael Hatfield, William Purvis, oboist Sara Bloom, and bassoonists Otto Eifert, William Winstead and with many artists among the Brevard Festival faculty. Elisabeth Pridonoff is a Steinway Artist and with her husband pianist Eugene Pridonoff performs internationally as the Pridonoff Duo.
Haewon Song Pianist Haewon Song is a member of the acclaimed Oberlin Trio along with Oberlin faculty David Bowlin, violin, and Amir Eldan, cello. An internationally recognized artist and pedagogue, Song has performed and taught at top venues throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Her frequent appearances include, among others, concerto performances with the KBS Orchestra in Seoul, the Baltimore Symphony Orhcestra, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, and Oberlin Conservatory ensembles including the Chamber Orchestra, College Community Strings, and Wind Ensemble. Song has appeared at numerous international festivals, among them Mexico’s Cervantino Festival, the All-American Music Festival in Stuttgart, Grand Teton Music Festival, Aria Festival, Canada’s Institute of Musical Arts, Festival de Nice in France, the Oberlin Summer Piano Festival, and the Tonghai Music Festival in Taiwan. A native of South Korea, Song attended the Toho School in Tokyo, Peabody Preparatory School, and the Juilliard School, where her major teachers were Julian Martin, Martin Canin and Shuku Iwasaki. She has taught at Tunghai University in Taiwan, Kyung Won University in Seoul, and has been a member of the Oberlin Piano Department since 1991. Throughout her tenure at Oberlin, her students have won major prizes in both national and international competitions including MTNA Nationals, Wideman, Kingsville, Oberlin International Piano, Walgreen, World, and Corpus Christie, and regularly appear with significant orchestras across the United States and Asia. A frequent performer in duo piano recitals with her husband and fellow Oberlin faculty member Robert Shannon, their recording of George Crumb’s Celestial Mechanics (Bridge Records) has been hailed as “a wonderfully buoyant rhythmic performance” (Classicstoday.com). In 2005, Song toured Korea as a member of the Oberlin Piano Quartet, which included celebrated performances in Daejeon and at the Kumho Concert Hall in Seoul.
Alan Chow Alan Chow has won First Prize in the Concert Artists Guild International Competition, the UCLA International Piano Competition, and the Palm Beach Invitational International Piano Competition. Winner of the Silver Medal and Audience Favorite Prize at the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, he was also a prizewinner in the William Kapell International Piano Competition. A Steinway artist, Mr. Chow has performed in recital and in concert with orchestras in nearly all 50 states. His recitals have brought him to the major music centers including New York (Lincoln Center, Merkin Hall, Steinway Hall), Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago (Symphony Center and Ravinia), Washington, D.C., Cleveland, Seattle, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Miami. Concerto performances include appearances with the National Symphony, Utah Symphony, Oakland Symphony, Tulsa Philharmonic, Kansas City Symphony, and Omaha Symphony. Mr. Chow regularly tours Asia with performances in China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, including performances with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Shanghai Philharmonic and the Pan-Asia Symphony. An avid chamber musician, he has collaborated with the American, Pacifica, Miami and Escher String Quartets and has been guest artist at the Grand Canyon Chamber Music Festival, Juneau Jazz and Classics, San Juan Islands Chamber Music Festival, Kent Blossom Music Festival, Texas Music Festival, Music Festival of Arkansas and Music Mountain. In addition, he appears in joint recital engagements in the Cheng-Chow Trio with pianists Angela Cheng and Alvin Chow. Mr. Chow has given master classes throughout North America and Asia at conservatories, universities and summer festivals including, Indiana University, Bowdoin Music Festival, New Orleans International Piano Festival, Gina Bachauer International Piano Festival, Las Vegas Piano Festival, Tunghai International Piano Festival (Taiwan), Classical Music Festival (Austria) and in Singapore. Appointed guest professor at the Central Conservatory in Beijing and honored visiting professor at the Shenyang Conservatory, he has also presented recitals, master classes, and lectures in China at the conservatories in Shanghai, Chengdu, Xian and Wuhan. An adjudicator at national and international competitions, he currently serves as the permanent Chair of Jury at the New Orleans International Piano Competition. Mr. Chow studied with Nelita True at the University of Maryland where he graduated Co Valedictorian with his twin brother Alvin, and received the Charles Manning Prize in the Creative and Performing Arts given to the outstanding graduate; with Sascha Gorodnitzki at The Juilliard School where he was awarded the Victor Herbert Prize in Piano; and with Menahem Pressler at Indiana University where he was the recipient of the Joseph Battista Memorial Scholarship. He also studied at the Mozarteum Sommerakademie with Carlo Zecchi. Previously having served on the faculty of the University of Arkansas and Northwestern University, Mr. Chow is currently Professor of Piano and Chair of the Piano Department at the Eastman School of Music.
Norman Krieger A native of Los Angeles, Norman Krieger is one of the most acclaimed pianists of his generation and is highly regarded as an artist of depth, sensitivity and virtuosic flair. As the Los Angeles Times put it, “Krieger owns a world of technique-take that for granted. He always knows exactly where he is going and what he is doing. He never for instant miscalculates. He communicates urgently but with strict control. He is alert to every manner of nuance and at every dynamic level his tone flatters the ear.” Myung -Whun Chung, Donald Runnicles, Leonard Slatkin, Michael Tilson Thomas, Jaap van Zweden and Zubin Mehta are just a few of the conductors with whom Krieger has collaborated. Krieger regularly appears with the major orchestras of North America, among them the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra and the National Symphony. He has performed throughout Europe, Asia and South America including tours of Germany, France, Poland, Holland Scandinavia, Korea, China, New Zealand and Israel. He recently performed at the PyeongChang Music festival in Korea. In September 2014, he recorded the Brahms Sonata Op. 1 and the Piano Concerto No. 2 with the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Philip Ryan Mann, which will be released on Decca. In recital, Krieger has appeared throughout the United States, Europe, Mexico and Asia, while chamber music collaborations have included appearances with soprano Sheri Greenawald, violinists Paul Huang, Sarah Chang, Pamela Frank and Mihaela Martin, violist Nobuko Imai, cellists Myung Wha Chung, Jian Wang, Edward Aaron and Frans Helmersen as well as the Tokyo string quartet. His debut at New York City’s prestigious Carnegie Hall and Mostly Mozart Festival earned him an immediate invitation to Lincoln Center’s Great Performers Series. Krieger made headlines by being named the Gold Medal Winner of the first Palm Beach Invitational Piano Competition. He began his studies in Los Angeles under the tutelage of Esther Lipton. At age 15, he became a full-scholarship student of Adele Marcus at The Juilliard School where he earned both his Bachelor and Master degrees. Subsequently, he studied with Alfred Brendel and Maria Curcio in London and earned an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory, where he worked with Russell Sherman. A champion of contemporary music, he features the music of John Adams, Leonard Bernstein, John Corigliano, Daniel Brewbaker, Donald Crockett, Judith St. Croix, Lukas Foss, Henri Lazarof and Lowell Liebermann among his active repertoire. Krieger is the founding artistic director of The Prince Albert Music Festival in Hawaii. Since 2008, he has served on the summer faculty at the Brevard Music Festival in North Carolina. From 1997 to 2016 he was a professor at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. In August 2016 he was appointed Chair and Professor of Piano at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.
Jon Nakamatsu Since his dramatic 1997 Van Cliburn Gold Medal triumph, Jon Nakamatsu’s brilliant but unassuming musicianship and eclectic repertoire have made him a clear favorite throughout the world both on the concert circuit and in the recording studio. He has performed widely in North America, Europe, and the Far East and has collaborated with such conductors as James Conlon, Philippe Entremont, Marek Janowski, Raymond Leppard, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Michael Tilson Thomas and Osmo Vänskä. His extensive recital tours throughout the United States and Europe have featured appearances at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York City, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and in cities such as Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Paris, London and Milan. Nakamatsu maintains a nearly incessant touring schedule with orchestra performances, chamber collaborations and solo recitals. A highlight of the 2010-11 US season is a first appearance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. He also appears with jazz pianist David Benoit in a special program mixing Gershwin with jazz and classical repertoire at the prestigious Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga. In August of 2010, he performs a recital for the Chopin Institute in Warsaw at Warsaw’s Philharmonic Hall and in October will return to China for a debut at the Beijing International Piano Festival. In past seasons, Nakamatsu has been soloist with many leading orchestras including those of Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Rochester, San Francisco, Seattle, Tokyo and Vancouver. In February of 2010, he was the featured soloist for the highly acclaimed American tour of the Berlin-based Philharmonie der Nationen, conducted by Justus Franz, performing Brahms’ First Piano Concerto and Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto in twelve cities nationwide. Numerous summer festival engagements have included appearances at the Aspen, Tanglewood, Ravinia, Caramoor, Vail, Sun Valley, and Britt festivals. In 1999, Nakamatsu was invited to the White House to perform for President and Mrs. Clinton. Among the numerous chamber ensembles with which Nakamatsu has collaborated are the Brentano, Tokyo, Prazak, St. Lawrence and Ying String Quartets. He also tours frequently with the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet and in 2008 debuted on the Philharmonic’s chamber music series performing with the Quintet and members of the orchestra. Together with the acclaimed clarinetist Jon Manasse, Nakamatsu tours regularly as part of the Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo. In 2008, the Duo released its first CD (Brahms Sonatas for Clarinet and Piano) which received the highest praise from The New York Times classical music and dance editor James R. Oestreich, who named it a “Best of the Year” choice for 2008. Nakamatsu and Manasse also serve as the artistic directors of the esteemed Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, founded by pianist Samuel Sanders in 1979. Nakamatsu records exclusively for harmonia mundi usa, which has released nine CDs to date. His recent all-Gershwin recording with Jeff Tyzig and the Rochester Philharmonic featuring Rhapsody in Blue and the Concerto in F rose to number three on Billboard’s classical music charts, earning extraordinary critical acclaim. Jon Nakamatsu studied privately with the late Marina Derryberry from the age of six, and has worked with Karl Ulrich Schnabel, son of the great pianist Artur Schnabel. He has also studied composition and orchestration with Dr. Leonard Stein of the Schoenberg Institute at the University of Southern California, and pursued extensive studies in chamber music and musicology. He is a graduate of Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in German Studies and a master’s degree in Education.
Haesun Paik Pianist HaeSun Paik has been hailed as a “sensitive and thinking musician first and an awesome technician second” (Los Angeles Times) with a “big and individual personality” (New York Times), whose performances are “a wonder — elastic, mercurial, charged with meaning, surprising” (Boston Globe) and “a rare example of technique actually serving both idea and feeling, head and heart” (Musical America). Having garnered top prizes at international piano competitions such as the Queen Elisabeth, Leeds, William Kapell, and the Tchaikovsky, Ms. Paik has performed concerts around the world in solo recitals, concerti with orchestras, and chamber music ensembles. Ms. Paik has appeared as a soloist under the baton of Mikhail Pletnev, Sir Simon Rattle, Vassily Sinaisky, Dmitri Kitaenko, Stanislav Skrovaczewski, and Myung Whun Chung, to name a few. She performed with orchestras including the Boston, National, London, City of Birmingham, Belgium National, Osaka, NHK, and KBS Symphony Orchestras, the Munich, Radio France, Tokyo, Warsaw, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Russian National Orchestra among others. Ms. Paik has appeared frequently in recitals at prestigious venues throughout the U.S. including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, and Jordan Hall in Boston, and her international tours have brought her to major concert halls around the globe. She has appeared at numerous international music festivals including the Beethoven Festival in Munich, Radio France Festival in Montpellier, Courchevel Music Festival in France, Dino Ciani Festival in Italy, Ishikawa Music Festival in Japan, Beijing International Music Festival and Academy, Orford Music Festival in Canada, Monadnock Music Festival in New Hampshire, International Keyboard Institute & Festival in New York, PianoSummer at New Paltz (New York), PYPA at Curtis (Philadelphia), and the PyeongChang Music Festival and School and Busan Music Festival in Korea. A superb collaborative artist, Ms. Paik performed with many distinguished artists including cellist Anner Bylsma, Mischa Maisky, Myung-wha Chung, violist Nobuko Imai, clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, the Borromeo String Quartet, and the Jerusalem Quartet. Her duo recording with cellist Laurence Lesser of the complete works by Beethoven for cello and piano was released by Bridge Records. Her debut and subsequent solo recordings can be heard on the EMI label. One of the most sought after pedagogical influences in Korea, Ms. Paik was the youngest pianist of her generation to be appointed as a music professor at Seoul National University, where she taught for ten years. She was on the piano faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music and currently is a member of the piano faculty at New England Conservatory. She is also an artist-in-residence at the Catholic University of Daegu and serves as the Artistic Director of the Busan Music Festival in Korea. She gives master classes at institutions and festivals worldwide and has served as a juror in many international competitions including the Bösendorfer and Yamaha USASU, the Cleveland, the Gina Bachauer, the Hilton Head, the Honens, and the Seoul (Dong-A) international piano competitions. Ms. Paik’s NEC training began at the age of 14, when she came to the U.S. from Korea to pursue her musical studies with Wha Kyung Byun, through the long-running partnership between New England Conservatory and the Walnut Hill School for the Performing Arts. Subsequently, Ms. Paik attended New England Conservatory, earning a Bachelor of Music degree, a Master of Music degree, and an Artist Diploma under the guidance of both Russell Sherman and Wha Kyung Byun. Ms. Paik’s artistic development was further influenced through her studies at the International Piano Foundation in Lake Como (Italy).
COLLABORATIVE PIANIST
Jonathan Korth Pianist Jonathan Korth enjoys a multifaceted career as a performer and professor, working with young musicians at the University of Hawaii at Manoa since 2008. In more normal times, he performs across Asia, the United States, and Europe, with recent concerts in Bangkok, Beijing, Chicago, Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo. Locally, you may have heard him presented by the Honolulu Chamber Music Series, Maui Arts and Cultural Center, Chamber Music Hawaii, Hawaii Concert Society, Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, faculty concerts at UH Manoa, and SCEP Live concerts since Fall 2020. Mr. Korth’s enthusiasm for chamber music has led to collaborations with violinists Martin Beaver and Robert McDuffie, cellists Zuill Bailey and Sung-Won Yang, and with many members of the HSO. Collaborations with Hawaii based musicians over the last decade have been particularly enjoyable and entertaining. When not playing the piano, he enjoys hiking and fine dining, well-paired activities.
Maika’i Nash Maika’i Nash returned home in 2017 after 20 years abroad where he worked as a vocal and operatic coach throughout Canada. He studied to be an artsong recitalist and operatic vocal coach while at McGill University in Montréal, and spent time in Sulmona, Italy, as a young artist berore being invited back as faculty at the Centre for Operatic Studies. Maika’i lied (German song) in Austria and mélodie (French song) in France before settling back in Toronto. He has taught at McGill University, the University of Toronto, Western University, the Glenn Gould School, and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Canada and at Javeriana University in Bogota, Colombia where he lived for 2.5 years before moving back. Maika’i now works with many of Hawai’i’s finest organizations such as the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, Manoa Valley Theatre, Diamond Head Theater, the I’m a Bright Kid Foundation, HOT, and is the official pianist for Disney Entertainment in Hawai’i. He also enjoys being a substitute DJ for HPR and is a partner in the newly formed Sovereign Strings, led by Kilin Reece and Music Director, Aaron Mahi. Maika’i is also the Artistic Director for an exciting new non profit, performing arts company, HI Arts Lab, which creates musical experiences that begin at the venue door and unites multiple art forms on stage at all of their productions. Launched in the Fall of 2019, HI Arts Lab has performed to sold-out audiences at all of their 8 experiences in the 19/20 season.
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