Maui Pops Orchestra revives Roaring ’20s in performance this Sunday

Maui Pops Orchestra steps back to delight in the music of the 1920s at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s (the MACC’s) Castle Theatre, this Sunday, March 17 at 3 p.m.

Featuring vocalists Ginger Pauley and Matt Tolentino — both of whom specialize in music of this era — the Maui Pops Orchestra looks back to a more carefree time when the Charleston was all the rage and radio had just begun broadcasting music across the country.

A pre-show performance by the King Kekaulike High School Jazz band will begin at 1 p.m., with food and beverages offered in the Yokouchi Pavilion.

Tickets for the Maui Pops Orchestra Spring Pops performance are on sale for $22, $35, $55 and $65 (plus applicable fees). Students 18 and under with ID get in for half-price (except for $22 tickets). Ticket sales are online only.

The MACC’s Schaefer International Gallery, “Sense of Place/Place of Sense” will be open special hours for the Pops audience prior to the concert. Click here for details on the exhibit.

The MACC will be collecting donations for the Maui Food Bank during this event. Patrons are asked to bring items for those impacted by the wildfires. Donation bins will be located near the MACC’s main entry gates.

Accompanying the Pops, vocalist Ginger Pauley is a Los-Angeles based singer and actress. She was the Lead singer in The Crazy Rhythm Hot Society Orchestra, The Mike Henebry Orchestra, The Swing Era Orchestra and also leads her own band, Ginger & The Hoosier Daddys. She has worked as a performer for Disney and Universal Studios for over 20 years and also hosts her own network TV show, Vintage America with Ginger. Pauley has done comedy sketches on The CONAN (O’Brien) Show and embarked on an Australian Tour of The Three Stooges Live in 2023.

Sharing his birthday with Fred Astaire, Matt Tolentino was born May 10, 1985. Some say he was born 80 years too late, but he’ll argue this is not the case. He works tirelessly to perform and preserve ragtime, hot jazz, and the roots of swing for today’s modern audience, and has made it his life’s mission to keep this wonderful music going for years to come.

A true multi-instrumentalist, he plays accordion, piano, clarinet, saxophone, banjo, guitar, tuba and vibraphone. As a vocalist, Matt has been praised for capturing the flavor and spirit of the 1920s and 1930s with sincerity and authenticity. His ensembles include small combos and two fourteen-piece outfits — The Singapore Slingers Orchestra and The New Liberty Dance Orchestra — both specializing in the music of 1895 to 1935. Some recent performance highlights include the Transatlantic Ragtime Romp aboard the Queen Mary 2, wherein he took a ten-piece ragtime orchestra on the high seas for seven days of music, song and dance.