The Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra Society
P.O. Box 6682, Kamuela, HI 96743
www.kamuelaphil.com

Kaori Mitani, 808-896-2153 kaorim@aloha.net

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KAMUELA PHILHARMONIC ANNOUNCES 2007 SPRING CONCERT

The Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra announces its 2007 spring concert on Sunday, April 15. The performance starts at 4 p.m. at the Kahilu Theatre in Waimea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The Kahilu Theatre is located behind the Parker Ranch Center in Waimea at 67-1186 Lindsey Road. The concert is free and open to the public.

The Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 2004 by Madeline Schatz, music director and conductor, to bring classical symphonic music to Big Island music lovers. The orchestra began with only 15 musicians, but in two years it has become the largest community orchestra on the island, with more than 40 members.

During its April 15 concert, the orchestra will feature Betsy Curtis as vocalist in Vocalise by Sergei Rachmaninoff. She'll also perform some blues and pop numbers with the orchestra. The songs won't be announced till right before the concert starts, so please come and see.The orchestra will play Symphony No.1 by Franz Schubert, too.

Betsy Curtis was born and raised in Kailua, Oahu. She learned to dance the hula from Mrs. Beamer (family to Keola and Kapono Beamer), soaking up an enduring love for the beauty of the hula and the enchanting melodies of Charles King, Alex Anderson, Queen Lili'uokalani, King Kalakaua and other great Hawaiian composers. She continued studying hula and performed regularly throughout Waikiki in Polynesian shows in her high school days. At Kailua High School, she met friend and singing partner Chris Rolseth and joined the Kailua High School Madrigals. The group toured Japan, and Betsy and Chris returned with a recording contract to sing folk music with Columbia Japan. In 1970, Betsy and Chris produced their first hit, "Shiroi Iro Wa Koi Bito No Iro" (White is a color for lovers), written by Kazuhiko Kato. They spent the next five years recording, touring and promoting in Japan as major recording stars. In her 20s on the Big Island, she sang for four years at the Kona Village Resort with Clem Low and Bobby Madrona, producing one album, "The Clem Low Trio." She was also a member of Waimea's Johnny Spencer's girl trio "Honey," who produced a Hawaiian album of Johnny's original songs called "Honey." Betsy was also a vocalist with Spencer's big band, "Slack Sax."Currently, Betsy is a member of the Bill Noble Trio. The trio has had a gig every Friday through Monday at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel on the Kohala Coast for 13 years. They have a CD of jazz standards, "The Bill Noble Trio." Betsy has recently produced two other CDs: " Betsy 2000," an extended- play CD of mostly contemporary Japanese tunes, and her latest offering, "Betsy's Christmas." All are available on her Web site, www.betsyko.com.

Madeline Schatz, the conductor and director of Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra, moved to the Big Island in 2002, after a successful 35-year career as a concert violinist/violist and orchestra conductor. She studied violin with Eudice Shapiro, Josef Gingold, and Henryk Szeryng; viola with William Primrose, David Dawson, and Milton Thomas; piano with Jack Previn and John Crown; and conducting with Michael Tilson Thomas, Daniel Lewis, and Paul Vermel. Schatz has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the California Chamber Symphony, and has guest-conducted orchestras in Utah, New Mexico, Washington, Oregon, Virginia, and in London. She has recorded CDs with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra. She now lives in Waimea, where she teaches music at the Hawaii Preparatory Academy and maintains a studio of private students in violin, viola, cello and piano.

About the concert:

Symphony Number 1 in D 82
by Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
About the composer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/schubert

Vocalise, Op. 34/14
by Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
About the composer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/rachmaninoff
About the music: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocalise_%28Rachmaninoff%29

For more information, please contact Kaori Mitani 808-896-2153, kaorim@aloha.net