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

19. March 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KAMUELA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA WILL PRESENT THEIR SPRING CONCERT MARCH 29.

The Kamuela Philharmonic will conclude its 2008-2009 season with a program featuring "Tuba Concerto in F Minor" by Vaughn Williams, with Garry Russell as soloist. The orchestra, under the baton of music director Madeline Schatz, will also perform Mozart's "Symphony No. 39 in E-Flat major," and Bizet's "Symphony No. 1 in C." The concert will be at 4:00 pm on Sunday, March 29, 2009, at the Kahilu Theatre in Waimea. Admission is free, and arrival at least 30 minutes before the performance starts is encouraged, since seating is limited.

Garry Russell plays tuba with several music groups in Hawaii, including the Kona Brass, the Good Times Jazz Band, the Kona Music Society Orchestra and in musical productions at Aloha Theater, as well as with the Kamuela Philharmonic. During his 27 years as a professional musician in Las Vegas, he was principal tubist of the Nevada Symphony Orchestra and Las Vegas Philharmonic, and was one of the founding members of the Las Vegas Brass Quintet, which toured the U.S. and made many recordings. He also instructed tuba at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas for 25 years and accompanied many famous Las Vegas stars when they appeared at major hotels on "the strip." The concerto Russell will perform for this concert was composed near the end of Vaughn Williams' life, and although the piece was at first viewed as the eccentric idea of an aging composer, it soon became one of the British composer's most popular works and a standard of the tuba repertoire.

Russell's talents were also showcased in February, when the Kamuela Philharmonic played "Tubby the Tuba" as part of the Kahilu Theater's series of children's concerts. The orchestra participates in this series to further one of its primary goals, which is to make classical music more available and accessible, especially to students in public and private schools on the island. A $500 grant from Young Brothers, Ltd., supplemented by contributions from the Kamuela Philharmonic's generous regular donors, financed the concert, which was greatly enjoyed and appreciated by the students, teachers, parents and other audience members who attended. The piece, which featured the orchestra's woodwind and brass sections, and was narrated by County Councilman Pete Hoffman, was an entertaining way to teach the audience how the instruments look and sound, and what role each instrument usually plays as part of an orchestra.

Like Russell, many Kamuela Philharmonic orchestra members are professional musicians who donate their time to the group, and are dedicated to providing high quality orchestral music free of charge to island residents and visitors. They often provide suggestions about what they would most enjoy playing to the group's music director, Dr. Madeline Schatz, a renowned conductor, violinist, violist and teacher, who has concertized all over the world, and currently teaches at Hawaii Preparatory Academy. They are very enthusiastic about performing the "Symphony No. 39 in E Flat major," which is the first of a set of three symphonies composed in rapid succession toward the end of Mozart's life, and has become part of the core symphonic repertoire. The "Symphony No. 1 in C," composed by Bizet at the age of 17, was not widely performed in his lifetime, but has grown to be a favorite orchestral work, and the Kamuela Philharmonic is excited about bringing it to a local audience

For more information about the concert: call: 808-896-2153 or e-mail: contact @kamuelaphil.com.

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.