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

22. February 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KAMUELA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA AWARDED BY THE HONOLULU INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The Honolulu International Film Festival has chosen the film, "Voyages," to receive the Aloha Accolade Award for Excellence. The film, by Big Island filmmaker and composer Paul Csige, features art work by noted Hawaiian artist Herb Kane and a soundtrack by the Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra. It was among the very best of several hundred films, submitted from more than 30 countries, according to film festival judges. The festival will take place March 6-8, 2009, in Honolulu, and although Voyages will not be among the 35 films screened then, the judges felt it deserved special recognition as an example of superior and standout filmmaking.

"Voyages," composed for and performed by the Kamuela Philharmonic, received its world premiere at the Kahilu Theater in Waimea on January 6, 2008. Csige, who received his music training at Berklee College of Music in Boston, was inspired to feature the talents of his former HPA music teacher and mentor, Dr. Madeline Schatz, along with the orchestra she had formed several years earlier at the request of local classical musicians, and to complement the graphic story. "Voyage," by Herb Kane. The multi-media composition, which was accompanied during the concert by visual projections of seventy images from Kane's highly recognizable artwork, tells the story of the first Hawaiians leaving the South Pacific on a voyage into the unknown.

A video Csige made of the concert was very well received locally. Using the training he received at the New York Film Academy as a director and cinematographer, as well as seven years of practical experience as a video editor, sound engineer and graphic artist, Csige crafted the work into a film. The film had a special showing at the Big Island Film Festival in May 2008, and again received favorable notice.

Although busy at work on another film, also with themes rooted in Hawaiian culture, Csige plans to be present at the historic Hawaii Theater in Honolulu to accept the award for his film on March 8. He is gratified that the work of so many dedicated local artists, including Mr. Kane and the members of the Kamuela Philharmonic, has been recognized in this way.

The Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra Society, whose purpose is to bring quality orchestral music to the Big Island of Hawaii, is qualified as a charitable organization under the Internal Revenue Code, and donations are gladly accepted before or after the concert. For more information call Joel Gimpel at 325-4991.