Assistant Professor of Music Jon Magnussen
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Barry Bearak, composer and University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu assistant professor of music, Jon Magnussen, and Dallas-based HAVEN Trio are collaborating on a unique performance – melding words and music in innovatively enhanced storytelling in the Hawaiʻi premiere of TWINGE. The musical composition by Dr. Magnussen is inspired by Bearak’s dramatic 2005 New York Times Magazine cover story, “The Day The Sea Came”, detailing how six people survived the December 26, 2004 Indonesian tsunami.
TWINGE is being performed for the first time in Hawaiʻi on Jan. 19 at the UH West Oʻahu Library, followed by a concert in Hawaiʻi Public Radioʻs intimate Atherton Studio on Jan. 21, which will feature live narration by Bearak. The 15-song composition will be performed by the HAVEN Trio, which consists of soprano Lindsay Kesselman, clarinetist Kimberly Cole Luevano, and pianist Midori Koga. After both performances, Magnussen, Bearak, and the members of the HAVEN Trio will hold a talkback session with the audience.
Bearak worked as a reporter and correspondent for The Miami Herald, The Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times. He won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting and was also a Pulitzer finalist in feature writing in 1987. Dr. Magnussen was inspired to compose TWINGE after reading Bearak’s message of humanity in the dramatic cover story about the survivors of the 2004 tsunami, beginning 24 hours before the tsunami through most of 2005. Says Magnussen, “Bearak’s words can help our community as we expand our ideas about cultural diversity, religious tolerance, and survival in a sometimes unstable world.”
TWINGE is dedicated to the memories of the hundreds of thousands of victims of the December 26, 2004 Indonesian tsunami, and was commissioned through the Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Program, with support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Chamber Music America Endowment Fund. The O’ahu events are made possible by the UH West O’ahu Distinguished Visiting Scholars Fund, UH West O’ahu Music Fund, and the SEED IDEAS fund of the UH System.
Listing Information
The University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu
TWINGE by Jon Magnussen, performed by the HAVEN Trio
Thursday, January 19, 2017, 7 p.m.
The University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu Library
91-1001 Farrington Highway, Kapolei, HI 96707
Tickets: Free admission for students and UH West Oʻahu faculty and staff.
The musical artists and journalist will also visit UH West O’ahu classes in Journalism, Disaster Preparedness, and Music, to increase awareness of cultural understanding, disaster preparedness, and the power of music in storytelling. The events are made possible by Chamber Music America, UH West O’ahu Distinguished Visiting Scholars Fund, UH West O’ahu Music Fund, and the SEED IDEAS fund of the UH System.
Hawai‘i Public Radio presents
TWINGE by Jon Magnussen, performed by the HAVEN Trio
Saturday, January 21, 2017, 7:30 p.m.
Atherton Performing Arts Studio
738 Kāheka Street, Honolulu, HI 96814
Tickets: $30 general, $25 HPR member, $15 student (with ID); online service fees apply
Purchase: (808) 955-8821 during business hours; www.hprtickets.org
Reservations may be made online at www.hprtickets.org or by calling the station (955-8821) during regular business hours. Tickets are $30 general, $25 for HPR members, and $15 for students with ID; service fees are applied to online orders. The Atherton Studio is located at Hawaiʻi Public Radio, 738 Kāheka Street. Doors open a half hour before the performance. Advance ticket purchase strongly encouraged as the house is frequently sold out before the performance date.