Aloha friends.

   Welcome to the 2024-2025 season of fine music and dance, presented by the Hawai`i Concert Society. Seven performances are scheduled, all of them at the U.H. Hilo Performing Arts Center and each beginning at 7:00 pm (note the change in starting time). Our season features exceptional artists from around the world. By ordering tickets now, you will guarantee that you and yours will be in attendance at your choice of events, and at substantial savings over concert night and ticket outlet prices.

   The season will open in mid-October with Van Cliburn gold medalist and island favorite Jon Nakamatsu, this time not performing only as a soloist, but also with Honolulu’s Galliard String Quartet.  Following them, in early November, will be the Escher String Quartet, the 2013 winner of an Avery Fisher Career Grant and still one of the world’s premiere young quartets.

   In late January and early February we will present two trios performing widely different musical forms.  The intriguingly named ensemble Gut, Wind, and Wire will bring us early (ca. 1600) music from Europe, performed on period instruments, for the first time in over five years. Japan’s young, award-winning Aoi Piano Trio, who already have garnered considerable acclaim both in Germany and in their native country, will be making their first USA appearances in our state.

   In late February, we will present a violin recital by the 24-year old American phenom, Nathan Meltzer, a protégé of Midori (who performed last season) and a student of Itzhak Perlman. Critics have called Meltzer’s playing “stunning,” “gorgeous,”, and “dreamlike.”  In mid May we will present a more experienced, but equally electrifying soloist, pianist Ilya Yakushev, whose artistry has been described as “eloquent, ranging from the cataclysmic to the poetic, with many passages of extreme beauty.”

   Finally, it has been eight seasons since HCS presented a flamenco performance, and the board has received numerous requests that we do so again. Thus, we are thrilled that in mid-March Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana will once again immerse us in the passionate and disciplined world of that centuries-old Spanish art form.

   Season tickets are great bargains – a 20% discount off box office prices. You may also custom-design your own mini-series of at least four concerts, at a 10% savings. You may also add extra tickets at these prices to your order. Or you may order tickets for fewer than three concerts at box office prices. Orders are accepted at any time. Our tickets make great gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, etc. Order now to be sure that you do not miss what will be a most memorable 2024-2025 season.

On behalf of the board, yours sincerely, 

Thomas R. Geballe, President