Honolulu Chamber Players And Choir To Perform Two Premieres At Kawaiahao Church

MidAm International has announced the world premiere of composer/conductor Chris Maunu's Phoenix: A Trilogy of Hope on Saturday, May 20, 2023, at 7:30 PM at the Kawaiahao Church in Honolulu, Hawaii with with the Honolulu Chamber Players. In addition to the world premiere, Allan Robert Petker, will conduct the choir and orchestra in the Hawaiʻian Premiere of his Dona Nobis Pacem, an original six-movement work based on the theme of social justice. This performance is part of MidAm International's 40th anniversary season celebration, running from 1983 to 2023.

Phoenix; a three-movement work written by composer Chris Maunu, is inspired by humanity's resilience. The first movement, Choirs Won't Be Silenced, was written by Maunu in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the incredible response from choir directors worldwide. The second movement, Alleluia Votum, is an exuberant piece primarily consisting of two words, "alleluia" and "votum" (the Latin word for hope). The third and final movement, May We Not Return, closes the trilogy with a message of radical self-reflection becoming a potential agent for good. The trilogy will be conducted by Chris Maunu himself.

Participating choruses include the Allan Petker Chorale, San Pedro, CA (Allan Robert Petker, Director), Arvada West Choir Alumni, Arvada, CO (Christopher Maunu, Director), Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology Chorus, Lawrenceville, GA (Laurie Duke, Director) and The Hoʻolōkahi Chamber Choir, Laie, HI (Erica Glenn, Director).

The final portion of the concert will feature Mozart's Requiem in D Minor, K. 626 conducted by Peter Tiboris, Founder, General Director, and Music Director of MidAmerica Productions with soloists Eilana Lappalainen, Soprano, Sarah Lambert Connelly, Mezzo-soprano, Taka Komagata, Tenor, and Robert Ellsworth Feng, Bass.

Tickets are free and the concert is open to the public. Visit HonoluluCP.eventbrite.com to reserve your ticket or (808) 593-2468 for more information.

ALLAN ROBERT PETKER, Conductor/Composer

Allan Robert Petker is a composer/arranger with more than 250 published works. He is the President of Pavane Publishing, which he founded in 1989. He also serves as the Vice President of Publications for the Fred Bock Publishing Group, which includes Fred Bock Music Company, Gentry Publications, National Music Publishers, The H.T. FitzSimons Company, and Hinshaw Music. He conducts three auditioned chorales: Consort Chorale (San Francisco), Santa Clarita Master Chorale, and Los Cancioneros Master Chorale (Los Angeles). For 30 years he has led music conferences each summer at Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Internationally, he has guest-conducted choirs in England, Korea, and France and led concert tours throughout Eastern and Western Europe, the Baltic, and South America.

CHRIS MAUNU, Conductor/Composer

Chris Maunu is the newly appointed Artistic Director of the renowned Pacific Youth Choir in Portland, Oregon, and serves on the faculty at Portland State University. He spent the last 17 years as the Director of Choirs at Arvada West High School in Colorado. A 4-time Finalist for the GRAMMY Music Educator of the Year Award and 2-time winner of the CMA National Music Teacher of Excellence Award, Chris is a passionate advocate for music education. Choirs under Maunu's direction have appeared at 13 national, regional, and state music conferences of ACDA and MEA. They won the American Prize in Choral Performance and the Gold Diploma at the Rimini International Choir Competition.Maunu is a frequent guest clinician for all state and festival choirs across the United State and internationally. He is a contributing author to "The Choral Conductor's Companion," as well as many other publications. Chris has enjoyed lecturing on a national level on choir recruitment, repertoire, and establishing community and culture in the classroom. Maunu maintains an active composing career. His compositions have received American Prize Finalist honors and he has been hired for numerous commissions. Chris holds degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northern State University. Most importantly, Mr. Maunu shares his life with his beautiful wife Aleisha, and their children Bodhi and Astraea.

ABOUT MIDAMERICA PRODUCTIONS AND MIDAM INTERNATIONAL

Peter Tiboris created and conducted his first concert in New York on January 7, 1984, at Lincoln Center, featuring The American Symphony Orchestra, soloists, and three choruses, the Louisiana Chorale of Acadiana, Camerata Singers of Baton Rouge, and Collegiate Chorale of New York. For 40 years, MidAmerica Productions has brought together conductors, soloists, and choral and orchestral ensembles from the U.S. and abroad to appear at New York's top venues, including Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, Weill Recital Hall, and Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall; and Alice Tully Hall and Avery Fisher Hall (now David Geffen Hall) at Lincoln Center. In addition to presenting orchestral and choral works, MidAmerica Productions has championed contemporary composers with 98 World Premieres, 38 United States Premieres, and 121 New York Premieres.

In 2004, MidAm International, Inc. was formed to support MidAmerica's growing presence in Europe. Since then, concerts have taken place in Vienna, Salzburg, Florence, Verona, Paris, Lisbon, Porto, Athens, and Syros, with concerts slated in 2024 for Warsaw, Florence, Verona, Venice, Lake Garda, Paris, Vienna, Salzburg, Athens, Syros, Lisbon, Porto, and London

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