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 Festival 2006 in Review
About the GalleryClick on thumbnail images for larger photos and captions. You may need to turn off pop-up blockers to see captions and enlarged photos. Getting Reacquainted at Maple Garden RestaurantIt has become a tradition with the Karps to dine at Maple Garden Restaurant the day they arrive for the Festival. Being a favorite restaurant of all the Festival artists, this always gets things off to a good start! 
Soiree for Students Is Fun For AllThe first event of the Festival, the Soiree for Students, was hosted by Ellen and Nancy Masaki at Ellen Masaki School of Music / Thayer Piano in the new recital hall. Eleven local students ranging in age from 11 to 18 had the opportunity to play side-by-side with members of the Red-Hot Lava Chamber Players, reading works of Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven, Brahms, and Bach. The casual setting allowed the students to play chamber music for the sheer joy of it, without the pressure often felt in performance. Jim Stanford, violinist with the Honolulu Symphony and well-known violin teacher, coordinated the repertoire and students for the event. 
Mozart & Inspiration Concert at the Doris Duke TheatreThe first concert of the Festival, Mozart & Inspiration, featured Honolulu Symphony Concertmaster Iggy Jang in a duo for violin and cello. He also played in the Brahms clarinet quintet. Also on the program were a Mozart piano quartet celebrating the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth and a unique offering - the famous slow movement from Mahler’s 5th Symphony arranged for cello and piano by Howard Karp. 
Mozart House Hosts Piano Master ClassA master class given by Professor Emeritus Howard Karp from the University of Wisconsin was presented on May 21, giving five talented young pianists the opportunity to play for an intimate audience on one of the many beautiful pianos at Mozart House - a Bosendorfer grand. They also received coaching from Frances Karp. Works by Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Barber, Beethoven and Prokofieff were played. A lovely reception, hosted by Norie and Yoshi Nishimura, followed. 
String Workshops at Iolani SchoolThe Tam and Young Arts Chair at Iolani School sponsored three string workshops in orchestra classes at Iolani taught by Joan Wehrman and Kathy Hafner. Dan Foster and Parry Karp performed movements from works by Bach, Isaye and Laurence Sherr. They talked about various aspects of string playing and answered questions from the interested students. After the orchestra played, Dan and Parry offered helpful comments to the young players about bowing, ensemble, the role of the conductor and the importance of feeling a pulse. 
Daniel Foster Violin Master ClassDan Foster, Professor of Violin at Eastern Michigan University, gave a violin master class at Iolani School on May 24, which was sponsored by Hawaii American String Teachers Association. Five students played works by Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Bach, Handel, Weber and Haydn. Pianist Jessica Choi accompanied some of the students. 
Parry Karp Cello Master ClassArtist-in-Residence at the University of Wisconsin, cellist Parry Karp presented a master class on May 25 at Iolani School. Four students played works of Lalo, Squire, Saint-Saens and Dvorak. Honolulu Symphony Board member Susan Spangler accompanied Aris Doike, and Heejin Kang, student of UH professor Dr. Thomas Rosenkrantz, played for Jeff Hamano. 
The Fruits of Passion Concert at Hawaii Public RadioThe final event of the Festival was a sold-out concert at the Atherton Performing Arts Studio entitled “The Fruits of Passion. The program opened with another tribute to Mozart's 250th anniversary, a melodious violin sonata by Mozart. This was followed by Chopin's massive cello sonata, a very late work. Symphony horn player Jonathan Parrish was featured guest in the quintet by Zdenek Fibich, which rounded out the program. Included among the top three greatest Bohemian composers which include Dvorak and Smetana, Fibich is in good company. The audience seemed pleasantly surprised by this wonderful piece. 
Photos by Norman and Ruth Foster |
