Guest violinist, former Valley Isle resident

Duane Padilla remembers when Maui Youth Orchestra founder Iolani Yamashiro enlisted him to make a trip every Monday for 10 years to teach violin to youth in her music program on the Valley Isle, including King Kekaulike High School student Kisa Uradomo.

On July 30, Uradomo who now has a Master’s degree in music will be the guest violinist on Maui with the Mana Music Quartet whose members include Padilla.

“The whole thing has come full circle. It’s pretty amazing,” Padilla said.

The concert by the Maui Music Quartet, produced by Jazz Maui/Arts Education Children Group, starts at the McCoy StudioTheater at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center at 7:30 p.m.

The Quartet received a 2021 Nā Hōkū Hano Hano Award for Best Instrumental Album and includes young and accomplished musicians:

• Cellist Joshua Nakazawa has performed solo, chamber and orchestral music at the Banff Music Festival in Canada, the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, and the Spoletto Music Festival in South Carolina and has a full-time position with the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra.
• Violinist Eric Silberger is a prize winner of the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition and the Michael Hill International Violin Competition in 2011. He is a co-founder of the Hawaiʻi International Music Festival and executive director of Strings at Classical Bridge International Music Festival of New York City.
• Mann-Wen Lo is an internationally acclaimed violinist and has performed extensively throughout the world in some of the most prestigious venues. As a chamber musician, she has collaborated with concertmasters of the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Orchestre National de Lyon, Danish National Chamber Orchestra. She plays on a rare J.B. Guadagnini violin made in 1757.

The Mana Music Quartet concert is the first and only live presentation of the album on Maui and will also include Brahms’ epic String Quintet No. 2 Op 111 featuring Uradomo who as a Maui youth was selected to play in the prestigious National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America.

Uradomo has been teaching violin and viola at the Hudson Music Center in Michigan. She recently started her own chamber music quartet.

Padilla, who also works as a music engineer, said he arranged 15 of the Queen’s songs, originally in choir form, and recorded the string Quartet’s music for the album.

He said Liliʻuokalani composed more than 150 songs and served as a link between Hawaiʻi music and traditional western music.

“We just fell in love with her music,” he said.

For a weekly listing of Maui music and other events, go to Maui Entertainment, Arts, Community, July 21-27 and click here.