CMH Debuts The Hawaiian Oboe Legacy Project This May!

In its Season Finale, Chamber Music Hawaii (CMH) presents the debut of the Hawaiian Oboe Legacy Project (HOLP) featuring J. Scott Janusch, Principal Oboist of the Hawai'i Symphony Orchestra (HSO) and a member of the Spring Wind Quintet. Created to honor Hawaii, the instrument is the world's only handcrafted oboe made of Hawaiian kauila wood. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 6 in Paliku Theatre and Monday, May 20 in Doris Duke Theatre. General Admission tickets are $35 per person and can be purchased at ChamberMusicHawaii.org. Free student tickets are also available at the door with a valid ID.

Chamber Music Hawaii always looks for new ways to serve the community and the state, shared James Moffitt, CMH Board President, as such, we are honored to share the Hawaiian Oboe Legacy Project with the people of Hawaii. Collaboration with other organizations is also an important part of what CMH does. It helps us offer unique performance opportunities for all we serve. This cross-cultural experience has been especially powerful for all of us.

HOLP was envisioned by Scott as a gift to the islands where he has spent the majority of his professional life as a celebrated oboist, teacher, and supporter of local arts. The instrument is one-of-a-kind for it is made of Hawaiian kauila wood, a rare and culturally significant wood. The 300-year-old kauila wood used is from the island of Kauai and it was harvested more than 25 years ago by Konohiki Ed Kaiwi in a rural area near the Waimea Canyon. Kaiwi's longtime friend, noted luthier Michael Sussman, was given a portion of this wood and asked to make a ukulele out of it, as well as an ark for the Torah at a synagogue in Lihue, Kauai. Sussman made these objects many years ago but the rest of the wood remained under his house. Once he learned of Scott's idea, he agreed to gift the remaining wood to HOLP and milled two billets from the tree trunk. These billets were taken to the Worthing factory of Howarth of London a world-renowned oboe maker where the Hawaiian oboe was completed in about two years.

Another component of HOLP is the creation of a piece of music to feature this unique, new instrument. Nationally-known composer Dr. Jon Magnussen, Associate Professor of Music at the University of Hawai'i (UH) West Oahu, was commissioned to create N Kau Elua | The Two Seasons, a 12-movement work for string quartet, piano, Hawaiian and western percussion instruments, and solo oboe. The piece will be given its world premiere on May 6 and May 20 by Scott and CMH's Galliard String Quartet, UH Professor of Piano Dr. Thomas Yee, and HSO's Principal Timpanist Jordan Schifino. Dr. Magnussen is also creating a full symphonic concerto version that will debut in fall 2019 as part of the HSO's Masterworks series. Dr. Magnussen has dedicated the composition to J. Scott Janusch, the HOLP, and the Hawaii community.

Following these events, the Hawaiian oboe will be entrusted to the care of the nonprofit, Live Music Awareness, and through its auspices will be made available for generations to come.

I feel privileged and honored to finally be able to share the culmination of two years' effort to bring this project to life, said Scott. He added, I thank the many individuals who have helped with its creation: the Howarth of London Company; composer Jon Magnussen, who not only wrote the musical commission, but assisted with research about the importance of the wood; the Hawaiian Cultural practitioners Sam 'Ohu Gon III, Sabra Kauka, Roselle Bailey, Ed Kaiwi; Mickey Sussman, for donating the wood; and the many community members who stepped forward with major donations to Live Music Awareness towards the completion of the project. The Hawaiian Oboe Legacy Project could not have been realized without you!

General Admission tickets to the Hawaiian Oboe Legacy Project are $35 per person. Tickets are available by phone at (808) 489-5038, online at ChamberMusicHawaii.org, or in person one-hour prior to each concert. Free student tickets will be available at the door with a valid ID.

 

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