The University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu is launching a new musical endeavor in fall 2017–a University Strings ensemble.
To encourage students and community members to join the new ensemble, the university is hosting a joint performance by Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra concertmaster, Ignace “Iggy” Jang, HSO bassist John Gallagher and Mililani High School’s String Ensemble, led by Director Bryan Hirata, on Thursday, April 6, 11 a.m. in the Campus Center Dining Hall on the UH West Oʻahu campus.
Like the University Band and University Chorus, the new University Strings ensemble is open to community members as well as high school members who play the violin, viola, cello, or double bass (ownership or rental of an instrument is required). Registered students will earn two college credits in MUS410H, which will help them fulfill general education requirements for graduation at UH West Oʻahu.
The ensemble will be led by UH West Oʻahu Assistant Professor of Music Jon Magnussen, a composer and graduate of The Juilliard School who has conducted performances at national and international venues including Alice Tully Hall (NYC), Royce Hall (L.A.), the 2002 Olympic Arts Festival (Salt Lake City) and Teatro Angela Peralta (Mazatlan, Mexico).
The ensemble will perform repertoire spanning from the Baroque period into the 20th- and 21st-centuries, and will likely join other UH West Oʻahu ensembles in collaborative performances.
Eligible ensemble members include:
- UH West Oʻahu students, faculty, staff and community members who play the violin, viola, cello or double bass
- Oʻahu high school junior or senior students participating in the Department of Education Running Start program that offers simultaneous high school and college credit; or Early Admission program that offers college credit only
- Hawaiʻi State Department of Education teachers taking MUS410H for teacher reclassification credit. All ensemble members will receive UH West Oʻahu course credit for University Ensemble MUS410H. Instruction begins Thursday, August 24, 2017 and will take place weekly on Thursdays, 6:30-8:30 p.m. in Campus Center Room C-225
All interested participants should email Magnussen to schedule an audition. High school students interested in joining the UH West Oʻahu ensemble should speak with their college counselor about applying for the Running Start or Early Admission program.
—By Leila Wai Shimokawa
