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P E R F O R M I N G A R T S C E N T E RS O K A

S O K A U N I V E R S I T Y O F A M E R I C A

Presents

The use of cameras and recording devices of any type is prohibited.Please silence all cell phones and paging devices.

We ask that patrons please refrain from text messaging during the performance.

Saturday, December 17, 2016 at 8:00 p.m.

Na Leo PilimehanaHoliday Concert

Nalani ChoyLehua Kalima

Angela Morales

Roderick Esteban -- Drums Arex Ikehara -- Bass

Bryan Kessler -- Guitar and VocalsAron Nelson -- Keyboard

Shawn Pimental -- Guitar and Vocals

with dancers from Le Polynesia Cultural Performing Arts Center and Sabrina from Tahiti

There will be one intermission during this program.

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NA LEO PILIMEHANA

Na Leo Pilimehana, which in Hawaiian means “the voices blending together in warmth,” is the most popular, most award-winning, and highest-selling female Hawaiian group in the world. Na Leo consists of three childhood friends, Nalani Choy, Lehua Kalima, and Angela Morales. They run their own record label company; compose, write lyrics, record, and perform music; do volunteer work; play sports; and are moms and wives. They are real women with real lives sticking close to their ideals and putting their friendship first.

Morales, Kalima, and Choy met in seventh grade at Kamehameha Schools and all became members of the concert glee club. They had their first hit as seniors when they entered Hawaii’s youth talent contest, Brown Bags to Stardom, with their original song, “Local Boys.” The tune, “an ode to the bronzed and buffed,” as local writer David Choo put it, blasted onto the charts and ruled as number one for months. Stoked by the response, they put out their first hit album, also called Local Boys, which included three other original compositions. The next year, the hit single “Local Boys” won the prestigious Hoku Music Award (Hawaii’s version of the Grammy Award) and it became the best selling single in Hawaii’s history, a record that still stands today.

Despite the mega success of their first album, the trio didn’t make a dime. Discouraged about music as a way to make a living, they decided to get on with other things, like college, jobs, and marriage. A few years later, they missed singing together, writing songs, and the fun they had composing and playing. Then a producer dangled the idea of another album.

Once reunited, they released Friends, another Hoku award winner and a huge hit. So much of a hit that Attorney General Janet Reno had to weigh in when the Hawaii Department of Education tried to ban students from playing the tune at their proms and graduations because it made reference to God.

Na Leo released eighteen CDs, won more than twenty Hoku Awards, and has been in the top twenty Adult Contemporary charts nationally. Na Leo recently released their first DVD titled I Miss You My Hawaii.

Biographies

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RODERICK ESTEBANDrums

Roderick Esteban is a Hawaiian music scene veteran who has been a longtime club and studio player. Based in Honolulu, Hawaii, he has been playing Yamaha drums since the mid 1980s and travels to Japan at least once a year to play them in venues such as the Billboard Live clubs in Osaka and Tokyo. He continues to play live music in Hawaii with groups such as the Royal Kunia Street Band and the Blue Note Quartet.

AREX IKEHARABass

Arex Ikehara grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii and is currently a music instructor at Noelani Elementary School in Manoa, Hawaii. He played bass guitar with Yvonne Elliman’s band (Elliman achieved a US number one hit with “If I Can’t Have You”). In the 1990s, Ikehara played regularly for an Elvis impersonator and recently performed in a Hawaii Five-O Elvis show. Ikehara continues to play locally at gigs in Hawaii with groups such as the Honolulu Jazz Quartet and White Light.

BRYAN KESSLERGuitar and Vocals

A lifetime musician, Bryan Kessler started formally studying the guitar at the age of nine while growing up in Philadelphia. By the time he was attending Berklee Music College in Boston, he was playing with different local bands, influenced by an eclectic array of musicians from soul, rythym and blues, and rock bands. He later moved to California and attended the Guitar Institute of Technology and was introduced to an even greater scope of music from around the globe.

Kessler moved to Hawaii in 1983 and further developed his acoustic guitar style by exploring slack-key tunings in a pop format. In 1992 he partnered with Wade Cambern and Robi Kahakalau to form the Hawaiian Style Band and produced three albums with the group which won three prestigious Na Hoku Hanohano awards. Kessler

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was also in the band Jet Stream with Cambern, which enjoyed a very successful four-year run at Nicholas Nickolas in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Kessler spends most of this time practicing, writing, recording, and playing various gigs with his blues band Red Zone and as a freelance guitarist. Kessler is the founder of Wire & Wood Records.

ARON NELSONKeyboardAron Nelson grew up in Hilo, Hawaii where he played guitar in various bands from a young age. He went on to receive a performance degree in piano from the University of Hawaii at Hilo and received a master’s degree in composition from San Jose State University. Having composed music for many commercials, including one for Hawaiian Airlines, he continues to use the electronic music composition training he received from Allen Strange. Currently he plays keyboards for Ben and Maila, and Na Leo; and plays guitar for Joy Waikoloa and Arex Ikehara, Soul-Kyo, and others.

SHAWN PIMENTALGuitar

Shawn Pimental is a consummate musician and award-winning record producer. He has performed with some of Hawaii’s leading recording artists, offering his talents on guitar, drums, bass, and vocals. He is co-owner of Studio Ala Moana, a prime recording studio in Honolulu, and owner of the record label Koops2 Entertainment, which represents both premier artists and emerging independents from Hawaii, in styles ranging from traditional Hawaiian to contemporary to reggae.

LE POLYNESIA CULTURAL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Dancers

Le Polynesia Cultural Performing Arts Center is a family-oriented dance studio dedicated to the perpetuation of and education about the Polynesian culture for all that seek it.

For more than fifty years, Le Polynesia has taught the beautiful dances of Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa, and New Zealand to hundreds of

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students throughout Southern California. It is committed to providing the best dance instruction and professional entertainment anywhere in Southern California. It is located in Lake Forest in the heart of Orange County.

Started by Junius (aka Junior) and Ilima Montgomery in Long Beach, California in 1961, Le Polynesia continues today under the direction of the second generation of Montgomerys: Guy and Lori Lei. The family has sought to continue the traditions of the past and educate the keiki (children) on the beauty of the Polynesian culture. Le Polynesia offers dance classes of all ages throughout the week and performances of all types. Young or old, beginner or expert, they teach all levels and provide a warm environment for learning!

Their halau ohana (studio family) share wonderful times together in the studio learning new music, drumming, and dances. Le Polynesia participates in and hosts numerous performances including recitals, cultural festivals, professional events, and competitions, all of which provide their students with an authentic cultural immersion into the “Polynesian experience.”

SABRINA FROM TAHITIVocals

Sabrina Laughlin aka Sabrina from Tahiti was born in French Polynesia on the beautiful island of Tahiti Iti and has always been surrounded by singing in her family. Following in the footsteps of her brother Tapuarii, at age ten she became his backup singer, and from there began the natural progression of her career and love of music.

Her passion for music brought her to the release of her fi rst album Arueraa in 1996 and a second one, Tau Musique est Douce, in 2004, both of which were produced by her brother Tapuarii. In 2012,working independently, Sabrina released her fi rst single “Terehe” and a DVD Live in Tahiti. In 2014 Sabrina independently produced and composed the album To’u Fenua (My Land/Island/Country).

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In 2013 the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was taking place for the first time in Tahiti and they were on the lookout for the right person to represent Tahiti. Sabrina wrote and composed a song close to her heart which became the official song of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

Through her songs, Sabrina expresses her love for Tahiti, its people, and its culture. With the opportunity to travel, she has had the chance to share her love for her homeland and music all over the world including France, California, Japan, Mexico, and many islands in the South Pacific.

Even with all of her accomplishments, for her, the best part of her musical artistry and career as a singer/entertainer is that she is able to meet people from all over the world who speak different languages, come from a differen ethnic background, and have their own dreams, and to collaborate and share with them her passion for music and the understanding that music is enhanced rather than limited by those differences.

As an ambassador for Air Tahiti Nui, Sabrina works hand in hand with the airline to share her love for music this December through this collaboration with Na Leo Pilimehana. Many thanks to Air Tahiti Nui and mauruuru roa to Na Leo for the wonderful opportunity to share this wonderful holiday season with you.

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PKF-Prague PhilharmoniaThu . Jan . 26 . 2017 . 8 PM

The orchestra is led by Emmanuel Villaume who expertly guides the vigor, energy, perfectionism, and tremendous love for the music with which the musicians imbue each performance. Violinist Sarah Chang will be featured in this performance. Program: Semtana- Moldau; Dvořák - Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op. 53 and Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88.

Muriel AndersonSat . Jan . 28 . 2017 . 8 PM

Muriel Anderson’s new audio-visual show, Wonderlust, is a must-see and must-hear! Her world-renowned guitar and harp-guitar playing is highlighted by a backdrop of stunning visuals by celebrated photo-artist Bryan Allen. The first woman to win the National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship, Anderson has performed with country legend Chet Atkins and jazz great Les Paul.

James Garner’s Tribute to Johnny CashSun . Jan . 22 . 2017 . 3 PM

Garner and his band faithfully recreate Cash’s biggest hits and present historical accounts and personal anecdotes about America’s most beloved singing storyteller. The closest experience to seeing Johnny Cash in person today, this concert is a toe-tapping trip down memory lane, honoring Cash’s life and music.

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Soka University of America Board of Trustees:Steve Dunham, JD, ChairTariq Hasan, PhD, Vice ChairYoshihisa Baba, PhDMatilda BuckLawrence E. Carter Sr., PhD, DD, DH, DRSMaria Guajardo, PhDClothilde V. Hewlett, JDLawrence A. Hickman, PhD

Soka University of America Administration:Daniel Y. Habuki, PhD, PresidentEdward M. Feasel, PhD, Vice President of Academic Affairs & Dean of FacultyArchibald E. Asawa, Vice President for Finance and Administration & CFOTomoko Takahashi, PhD, Vice President of Institutional Research and Assessment & Dean of Graduate SchoolWendy Harder, MBA, APR, Director of Community RelationsKatherine King, PHR, Director of Human ResourcesHyon J. Moon, EdD, Dean of StudentsAndrew Woolsey, EdD, Director of Enrollment Services

We would like to thank our Board of Trustees and our Administration for their extraordinary support of Soka Performing Arts Center

With deepest gratitude to the donors who made Soka Performing Arts Center possible.

www.performingarts.soka.edu | (949) 480-4278 | tickets@soka.edu

Kris Knudsen, JDKaren Lewis, PhDDaniel Nagashima, MBAGene Marie O’Connell, RN, MSDavid P. Roselle, PhDYoshiki TanigawaShunichi Yamada, MBA

Soka Performing Arts Center Staff:David C. Palmer, General ManagerRebecca Pierce Goodman, Marketing and Administrative ManagerShannon Lee Blas, Patron Services ManagerSam Morales, Technical Services ManagerSteve Baker, House Manager; Lindsey Cook, Stage Manager; Marcia Garcia, Production Coordinator; Kay Matsuyama, Sound & Video Technician; Ray Mau, Lighting Technician; May Nakatsuka, Stage TechnicianJim Merod, Director, Jazz Monsters Series and Soka University Jazz FestivalStudents of Soka University of America who serve as patron and technical services crew, as well as marketing assistants. Citizens of Aliso Viejo and surrounding communities who volunteer their service as ushers and hospitality aides.

Our Sponsors and Partners:The Orange County Register, KJazz 88.1, KUSC 91.5, California Presenters, and California Arts Council.