Hawai‘i 2020

The American Wild Ensemble continued its celebration of the great American outdoors with a chamber music commissioning and performance project in Hawai‘i in February 2020. AWE traveled to Oahu and the Big Island of Hawai‘i to perform newly commissioned works by composers Takuma Itoh, Michael-Thomas Foumai, Tonia Ko, and Byron Yasui, all current or former Hawai‘i residents. The central commission of the project, Itoh’s Adaptiation Variations, was inspired by endangered endemic Hawaiian birds and supported by a Classical Commissioning Program Grant from Chamber Music America. Further commissions by Foumai, Yasui, and Ko took inspiration from Hawaiian wildlife, geography, and traditions.

AWE performed these new works in a program that combined music with commentary from the commissioned composers and conservation scientists who provided context for the inspiration behind each piece. The ensemble presented variations on this Hawaiian wildlife-inspired program at a variety of locations, in partnership with educational and cultural institutions, conservation organizations, and outdoor spaces. Partners on Oahu included University of Hawai‘i-Manoa, ‘Iolani School, Punahou School, and Lyon Arboretum. On Hawai‘i Island the ensemble performed at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, helping park visitors make new connections with their environment and continuing our ongoing partnership with the National Park Service.

To read more about our experiences in Hawaii, check out our three-part recap series on our NEWS page!

the events

february 7, 2020 — University of Hawaii-MAnōa

february 8, 2020 — Hawai’i Volcanoes national Park

february 10, 2020 — Waiākea schools visit

february 11, 2020 — Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park

february 11, 2020 — Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park

february 13, 2020 — ‘iolani School visit

february 14, 2020 — Kailua Intermediate school visit

february 14, 2020 — Punahou School visit

february 15, 2020 — Lyon Arboretum

the music

Adaptation Variations + Laysan Dances

Adaptation Variations is a work inspired by the remarkable "adaptive radiation" of the Hawaiian Honeycreepers, in which a single species of bird that first arrived in Hawaii evolved to become 56 distinct species. When talking about evolution, scientists have often used the musical analogy of a "variation of a theme" so I took that somewhat literally and wrote a set of (very loose) variations on a theme. Some of the variations are inspired by some of the notable adaptations: bark-picking insectivores like the ‘akikiki are represented by repeated notes; seed-eaters like the palila by percussive, rhythmic patterns; the nectarivores like the i‘iwi with their long curved beaks through glissandos.

Laysan Dances celebrates the Laysan Albatrosses that nest on the Hawaiian Islands, (mostly on the uninhabited Northwestern Islands). These birds have an odd idiosyncratic mating/courtship dance on land where they bob up and down, honk, and moo vocally, and clap with their beaks. Much of the piece is about this awkward dance, which is what most of us get to see.  However, the final section depicts a transformation of these awkward dancers into an elegant glider that soar effortlessly in the air for thousands of miles, where they spend a vast majority of their lives. –Takuma Itoh

This commission has been made possible by the Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Program, with generous funding provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The journey quickens

With each passing year, our journeys quicken – not in a straight line away from our origins, but as a spiraling out, going farther yet always somehow returning. This prelude traces these steps, where percussive and noisy elements accelerate and coalesce into fragments of song. - Tonia Ko

Covers and Uncovers

• ʻōhū/ ʻōhuku/ āhua/ ʻaiō/ ʻakoʻako/ ʻaui/ haʻanopu/ hoʻohua/ kuahaka/ kūhela/ nuʻa/ ōnū/ ʻōpuʻu/ ōpū: Fifteen words of the Hawaiian language used to describe swells, long waves that move along the surface of the sea without breaking

• "A world of grass and flowers stretched around me, rising and falling in gentle undulations, as if an enchanter had struck the ocean swell, and it was at rest forever..." -Eliza Steele, A Summer Journey in the West (1840)

The title of this work refers to the way that landscapes seem to unfold in layers, rolling infinitely to the horizon. My most familiar image of such a wide open vista is the Pacific Ocean, and specifically the experience of floating in the water, far from shore. In that moment, one becomes part of a flat blue expanse that feels ever more still the farther one looks. It is mysterious to me that expanses of land - the very opposite of water - behave in very much the same ways. This past March, I visited the Tallgrass Prairie National Reserve outside of Strong City, Kansas, on a particularly windy day. Grass filled every corner of my sight with a homogenous texture, and indeed swayed in continuous waves.

Although my piece is inspired by the largeness of these landscapes, I was interested how one perceives both visual and sonic details of the ocean or prairie. When immersed in such an environment, our focus switches constantly between the micro- and macro- elements. We could be investigating the short sounds of a single twig or ripple, then suddenly notice that they are just granular parts adding up to an engulfing white noise. This piece explores the relationship between the innumerable pointed noises of nature and the expansive sounds of the landscape as a whole.

Cover and Uncovers begins with the sound of loose debris, made by rattling desk bells. The dry, percussive result of this extended technique, paired with woodblocks, gradually transforms into a resonant world of metallic sounds - expressed through freely ringing bells, a cymbal, and in the most elemental form, a long metal tube played with a threaded rod. The instrumental writing negotiates the granular character of the opening sounds with more linear, static gestures that depict large physical distances. Various types of flickering gestures are passed between members of the ensemble, culminating in constantly shifting harmonics of the metal tube. The final "bowed" duet between the percussionist and the cellist is a brief acknowledgement of the fact that whether on wood or metal - (land or water) - nature imitates. – Tonia Ko

The Team

Lauren Becker

Lauren Becker is Assistant Professor of Horn at the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam and is a member of the American Wild Ensemble and the Potsdam Brass Quintet. She is a regular performer with orchestras around New York state, including Rochester, Buffalo, and Albany. Dr. Becker teaches at several summer music camps, including Kendall Betts Horn Camp, and has presented at conferences including the International Brass Festival and the NafME Eastern Division Conference. Dr. Becker holds DMA and MM degrees in Horn Performance and Literature and a Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, and a BM degree in Music Education from the University of New Hampshire.

Colleen Bernstein

Colleen Bernstein is an award-winning percussionist, educator, and collaborator. She has been featured in performances with GRAMMY-winning artists including Béla Fleck and members of the Silk Road Ensemble. Colleen directs the multimedia touring project “Strength & Sensitivity,” through which she has produced concerts in partnership with the United Nations HeForShe initiative. In addition, she performs and teaches with Creative Leaps International and has collaborated with the National Museum of Play and the Global Musician Workshop. She received degrees in Performance and Music Education from the Eastman School of Music and recently completed a MM in Percussion and Chamber Music Performance at the University of Michigan in spring 2019.

Ellen Breakfield-Glick

Ellen Breakfield-Glick is the Assistant Professor of Clarinet at Western Michigan University, a position she assumed after six years as clarinet instructor at Cleveland State University. She also spends her summers teaching on faculty at the University of Michigan MPulse Clarinet Institute and the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. Dr. Breakfield-Glick is a member of CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra and a regular performer with the Louisville Orchestra and Jacksonville Symphony. She holds a DMA and MM from the University of Michigan and a BM from Eastman School of Music, where she also completed an Arts Leadership Certificate.

Michael-Thomas Foumai

Dr. Michael-Thomas Foumai’s music has been described as “vibrant and cinematic” (New York Times). His work focuses on storytelling and the history, people and culture of his Hawaiʻi home.

Foumai’s music has been performed and commissioned by the Minnesota Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, and Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra, among others. Chamber groups including Alarm Will Sound and Music from Copland House have presented his music across the country and internationally through Asia and Europe.

His honors include the Fromm Foundation Commission, the MTNA Distinguished Composer of the Year Award, Jacob Druckman Prize from the Aspen Music Festival, three BMI composer awards, ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, The American Prize, and the Kaplan Fellowship.

Hanna Hurwitz

Hanna Hurwitz is the Assistant Professor of Violin and Coordinator of Strings at Denison University in Ohio. She previously taught at the University at Buffalo and Northern Kentucky University. Dr. Hurwitz is an avid chamber musician and performer of contemporary music who co-founded the artist-run Zohn Collective in 2017. She is also a regular collaborator with Ensemble Dal Niente and has performed with the Mivos Quartet, Lucerne Festival Academy, and resident ensembles at Italy’s SoundScape Festival and Spain’s Valencia International Performance Academy. Dr. Hurwitz holds a DMA and BM from Eastman School of Music, as well as a MM from the University of Texas at Austin.

Takuma Itoh

The music of Takuma Itoh has been described as "brashly youthful and fresh" (New York Times). Featured among "100 Composers Under 40" on NPR Music/WQXR, he has received awards including the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Barlow Endowment, the ASCAP/CBDNA Frederick Fennell Prize, six ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, and the Leo Kaplan Award. 

Itoh's music has been performed by Albany Symphony, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Shanghai Quartet, St. Lawrence Quartet, and more. Itoh has been a fellow at the Mizzou International Composers Festival, Cabrillo Composer Workshop, Copland House CULTIVATE, Pacific Music Festival and the Aspen Music Festival. Since 2012, Itoh has been a faculty member at the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa.

Emlyn Johnson

Emlyn Johnson is co-director and flutist of Music in the American Wild, an initiative that brings contemporary music to American national parks, landmarks, and other nontraditional venues. Dr. Johnson is an Instructor of Music at Missouri State University and has served as the flute instructor at several State University of New York institutions, as well as Career Advisor at Eastman School of Music’s Institute for Music Leadership. Dr. Johnson performs regularly with new music ensembles including Ensemble Signal and Alla Balena Ensemble, and she also directed her own chamber music series, Sunset Concerts, for five seasons in Rochester, NY. She received her doctorate from Eastman School of Music and holds additional degrees from Eastman and University of Michigan.

Daniel Ketter

Daniel Ketter is the Assistant Professor of Cello at Missouri State University and the Co-Director of the American Wild Ensemble, which celebrates the people and places that define local American communities with new music. Dr. Ketter also serves as principal cellist of the Springfield (MO) Symphony. Dr. Ketter completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Eastman School of Music. He also holds a MM in cello performance and pedagogy from the Peabody Conservatory, and graduated with high distinction from Eastman School of Music (BM ’10) and the University of Rochester (BA ’10). Alongside his work as a performing and teaching cellist, Dr. Ketter is currently a PhD candidate in music theory at Eastman with research interests in Schenkerian topics and performance and analysis.

Tonia Ko

Recipient of a 2018 Guggenheim Fellowship, Tonia Ko’s music has been lauded by The New York Times for its “vivid orchestral palette.” Her music has been performed at venues such as Walt Disney Concert Hall, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Tanglewood Music Center, and Aspen Music Festival. Internationally, her work has been featured at Royaumont Académie Voix Nouvelles, Shanghai Conservatory New Music Week, and Thailand International Composition Festival, where she won the 2014 Rapee Sagarik Prize. Ko has received awards from the Fromm Music Foundation, Chamber Music America, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and BMI, and residencies at the MacDowell Colony, Copland House, Kimmel Harding Nelson Center, and Djerassi Resident Artist Program. She was the 2015-17 Composer-in-Residence for Young Concert Artists. She is the 2018-19 Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Chicago’s Center for Contemporary Composition.

Alexander Peña

Alexander Peña, a new Oahu resident, serves as Orchestra Director at the ‘Iolani School, a position he assumed after several years working as Director of the ROCmusic Collaborative and as a faculty member at the Eastman Community Music School. As an educator, Mr. Peña further directs the Explore Music! program at the annual Lakes Area Music Festival, where he also performs as a violist. Mr. Peña’s active and varied career as a performer, educator, and musical leader has led to many accolades, from recognition of excellence in performance at the Coleman Chamber Ensemble Competition and the Music Teachers National Association Competition to his selection as a Global Leaders Program Fellow in 2019. Mr. Peña received his BM and MM in viola performance and music education from the Eastman School of Music, where he also completed an Arts Leadership Certificate.

Byron Yasui

Byron Yasui served on the music theory/composition faculty at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa from 1972, the year he received a DMA in composition from Northwestern University. In 2010, he retired as emeritus professor and immediately developed a renewed interest in the ‘ukulele, which he had not touched since 1960. ‘Ukulele-related activities take up most of his retirement time. These activities include teaching, composing, arranging, performing, and writing (a recently published method book and several ‘UKULELE magazine articles). He has produced his own solo ‘ukulele CD and was featured twice as an ‘ukulele soloist with the Hawai‘i Symphony Pops orchestra. In 2015, the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra commissioned him to write a concerto for ‘ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro, which was premiered in June, 2015, with JoAnn Falletta conducting the HSO. Yasui remains active as a jazz double bassist (since 1960) and, since 1987, has performed as a classical guitar duo partner with the Brazilian virtuoso Carlos Barbosa-Lima in annual Honolulu recitals.

Mahalo nunui

Thank you to all those who have supported us with time, donations, equipment, and advice for this project.

Special thanks go to:

-Chamber Music America, for their generous support of Takuma Itoh’s Adaptation Variations, commissioned through their Classic Commissioning Program

-The Aaron Copland Fund for Music

-Shawn Wahl, Julie Combs, and the Missouri State University College of Arts and Letters

-Faculty and staff at University of Hawaii-Manōa, Punahou School, ‘Iolani School, Kailua Intermediate, Waiākea Schools, and Niu Valley Middle School for their enthusiasm, hospitality, and assistance with equipment (extra thank you!)

-Takuma Itoh, for being a tireless advocate for our Hawaii residency

-Brendan Wenzel, for creating beautiful new illustrations for this endeavor (and for all the creative work he does to support wildlife efforts)

-Jorge Arzac, for his beautiful video work that continues to give life to this project!

-Individuals who have supported us with donations through Fractured Atlas and independently