Maui, HI February 18-23

What could be better than spending spring break in Maui!

I took a late morning flight from Honolulu on February 18th, and after getting my rental car, leisurely made my way to my vacation rental in Makawao. This was the first time I have used Vacation Rentals By Owner rather than stay at a hotel or B&B and I must say that I was quite satisfied. I stayed in the Ginger Suite, a full-equipped 1-bedroom apartment at a place called Maui Pono, and I found having the extra space –like my own apartment– really wonderful. I never met the owners nor my neighbors, but that was OK since I spent most of my days out and about. It was conveniently situated on Kokomo Rd. between Makawao and Haiku, and although my apartment was right next to road, it never bothered me at night.

After dropping of my bags, I made my way back to Paia through Haiku, first stopping off at Ho'okipa Point to watch the surfers tackle the monster waves of Maui's North Shore. 

There was a busker singing Israel Kamakawiwo'ole songs and various people enjoying the sights. I couldn't help but notice the following creature tied up to leash:

Kitty, kitty?

In retrospective, the question I asked was pretty stupid. I mean... Could this creature be anything but a cat? This was Paia however, a gathering place for alternative lifestyles, so I wouldn't be surprised if someone kept some strange creature as a pet. As it turned out, the owner was courteous to me and mentioned that she gets the question all the time. "She's simply a furless kitty... on a leash," she replied. I made my way through Paia and rested at Baldwin Beach Park before enjoying a Lava Flow smoothie at the Green Banana Organic Cafe. In the evening I had a dinner at Polli's Mexican Restaurant in Makawao, which has an auspicious sign out front that reads, "Come on in, or we'll both starve!"

The next day I made my way out the West Maui to spend time with my friend Diane from UH Manoa, her 5-year old son, and boyfriend. 

Joe, Diane, and Keoni

They took me to a beautiful beach near Kaanapali protected from the rough currents and waves, a stark contrast the north shore beaches. We enjoyed conversation over a picnic lunch and swimming in the warm, turquoise waters. In the late afternoon we took a short walk towards the Four Seasons. On the way there, we happened upon a colorful collection of kayaks used by the hotel for excursions.

I really enjoyed getting to know Diane's 5-year old son, Keoni... a friendly boy with unlimited positive energy and a lot on his mind to talk about!

Before embarking on the long return trip to central Maui, we went shopping at Whaler's Village where I bought a gift for my hosts in San Francisco (February 23-28) and had pizza for dinner. I stopped in Lahaina on the way back and enjoyed browsing through some of the art galleries, especially one dedicated to the work of Australian landscape photographer Peter Lik. 


On Sunday morning, I explored the nearby town of Makawao with its numerous boutique shops and galleries.

Downtown Makawako

Shortly before mid-day I made my way to Maalaea Harbour and booked an afternoon snorkeling trip to Molokini on the Pride of Maui. The ride to Molokini was just as memorable as the snorkeling itself. Due to vog conditions, it has been uncharacteristically humid in Hawaii the past week, with Maui getting some of the worst of it due to its proximity to the Big Island. The boat sped along and the cool breezes were a welcome delight, not to mention viewing countless numbers of whales. Molokini is rated one of the top ten diving spots in the world. Even from the perspective of snorkeler, wading on top of the water, I could clearly see 30 feet to the bottom of the ocean. The inside of the crater was full of different schools of fish. We only snorkeled for about an hour, and although the ocean temperature was quite warm, it was enough for me. Lunch was an added benefit for this excursion, and I found it a good value at just $41 for the afternoon.


On Monday, February 21st I spent the day driving back and forth to Hana. The Hana Highway hugs the northern coast of Maui runs from the upcountry area 52 miles east to Hana, an isolated, yet gorgeous town. It is a quite stressful drive, with an uncountable number of hairpin turns with limited visibility and tiny, one-way bridges that must be negotiated with traffic coming from the opposite direction. If you can manage to safely find a place to park along the side of the road, the views are simply breathtaking.

Evidently, the locals have learned to do the drive in record-breaking time, and were a near constant source of stress as I slowly made my way along the highway. I left at 9:00AM or so and it took about 2.5-3 hours to leisurely make the trek, with just a few toilet stops and a break at Uncle Harry’s for a smoothie.

I arrived in Hana shortly before 12:00PM and took a walk around town. This didn’t take very long at all! The center of town is dominated by the stunning Hotel Hana-Maui ($400+/night!). 


Although I couldn’t afford their spa services ($140 for a 60-minute massage + mandatory 18% tip and $25 surcharge for non-staying customers!), a bought a heavenly chamomile/ginger moisturizing lotion at their spa shop. I also popped in the Hasegawa General Store, which sells everything from work overalls and fertilizer to postcards and DVDs, not to mention a modest supply of food products. An institution for over 80+ years, Hasegawa evidently provides the locals for those must-have goods that simply can’t wait until the next commute to Kahului.

The real highlight of my visit to Hana however, was the treatment I received at Luana Spa. More reasonably-priced than the Hotel Hana-Maui, Luana Spa is poised in a stunning location overlooking Hana Bay. I opted for the Hot Stone Lomi-lomi massage. The owner and sole therapist available on this day, Nancy, was a joy to chat with and provided a luxury experience at a reasonable price.

For lunch I ate an authentic Thai Restaurant right next to Luana Spa. Afterwards, I spent a significant amount of time at the art gallery affiliated with the Hotel Hana-Maui. The art in this gallery is simply stunning, with correspondingly eye-popping prices. I took a quick dip at the black sand beach of the Hana Beach Park before the return trip to Makawao. Although the sun set about 90 minutes into the return drive and the roads turned pitch black, I found it easier to drive than in daylight, as I could see the headlights of approaching cars and didn’t need to inch around every hairpin curve.

The activity I partook on Tuesday, February 22nd was probably the highlight of my entire trip, and it was something I wanted to did ever since first visiting Maui back in 2003. At 9:00AM two dozen or so people gathered Haleakala Bike Company in Haiku and were brought up to the top of Mt. Haleakala in a van. I opted for the longer tour, which included a tour of the summit, so after a circuit of some of the viewing points of the crater – which were absolutely spectacular, like viewing the moon! – we were released on our own to brave the 23-mile descent down the volcano... on a mountain bike!

 I must admit that I felt a bit guilty as I descended, as I saw more than one arduous fellow making his way UP the mountain. Evidently, prior to 2008 or so bikers made their way from the summit. However, locals and tourists alike complained that the parking lot was simply overrun with bicycle activity, and that the sheer numbers of descending bikers made it impossible for traffic exiting the park to safely pass them at any reasonable speed. After petitioning to end the bicycle tours altogether, the locals evidently lost in court, but the bicycle tour companies compromised and agreed to begin the descent from 8,500 feet instead of from the summit. This cuts off about five miles of descent. However, the roads inside the park have no shoulder at all and are quite narrow and curvy in places. I imagine that the first thing on the mind of any biker freezing in the early day break hours is to descend as soon as possible to warmer altitudes, so I can imagine how dangerous it might have been. I had a blast on the descent! It took me 3+ hours only because I spent so much time stopping on the way to check out some of the sights and take pictures of the breathtaking scenery. I also experimented with my FLIP camera by attaching it to the front handlebars with an adjustable stand. I doubt I’ll ever actual watch these videos – if I even decide to let them take up space on my hard drive – but it was nonetheless a fun experiment.

 I spent an inordinate amount of time at the Kula Mountain Lodge. There was quite a lot to see here, including an upscale art gallery and gift shop. I ate lunch in the Kula Lodge Restaurant and enjoyed a delicious spinach salad with caramelized macadamia nuts and fresh strawberries. After lunch it was more or less a straight shot back to Haiku. Throughout the 23-mile stretch I don’t think I pedaled more than 400 meters or so. In the afternoon, I finally had an opportunity to visit the Hui No’Eau Visual Arts Center just before closing.

Hui No’Eau Visual Arts Center

 Afterwards, I picked up a few gifts in Makawao for my hosts in San Francisco and Shanghai before meeting Karen Fischer, President of Pasifika Artists Network, for dinner. During my entire stay at Maui Pono, I never met the owners and only once caught a glimpse of my neighbors. It was as if I had the place to myself. If you’re looking for a social drink by down the bar or pool of a trendy hotel, this place isn’t for you, but if spacious, affordable, and conveniently located accommodations is important to you, than this place may suit you. I’d certainly stay again, especially if it were for a month or longer as it includes kitchen facilities. I was a bit sad to be leaving Maui. Somehow, I was able to escape from the frigid temperatures of the northeast for three weeks during the coldest month of the year. As I boarded Alaska Airlines 880 bound for Oakland the next day, I made sure to pack my thermal shirts and sweater for the journey back to winter.

Honolulu, HI – 1/31-2/18 Week 3

On Saturday, February 12th, I got up early and made my way down to Market City to attend a performance by the Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble. For Honolulu, the temperature was quite high and I did not envy those poor performers banging away at their drums non-stop for 25+ minutes. Mercifully, a tent was set up to shield them from the blazing sun. Spectators were not so lucky!

The Kenny Endo Ensemble in performance

In the afternoon, I did something I've been wanting to do for quite a while. I went to see a Met HD opera  broadcast. I'm not an opera, so I would not have gone if I wasn't interested in the work being broadcast for some personal reason. Well, this week it was the Met premiere of Nixon in China. I attended the Paris premiere of this opera 20 years ago in 1991. John Adams had played an influential role in my development as composer primarily because his music gave me strength and courage to realize that it was possible to make contributions to the field of contemporary music without aspiring to be the next Anton Webern. I was in Paris the week before Christmas, right after a semester spent studying in London at in the Danenburg Oberlin in London program. I actually stayed afterwards and introduced myself to Adams, and the father of one of best friends in college, John Duykers. At this time in my life, for some reason I thought I would never have an opportunity to travel abroad again! 

The tickets for the Met HD were a whopping $24, but I suppose this is a bargain compared to tickets for the Met, not to mention the added expense mid-town Manhattan parking! The theater was so packed there were some audience members sitting on the floor! It was quite nostalgic to see the opera again, although I would think for this type of broadcast the theater would have invested more time and care to make sure that the speakers were set up correctly. The sound quality was thin and un-balanced, and the volume to low to really enjoy the music. Still, I am glad to have had the experience, and hope to enjoy the Met HD in another city someday.

In the evening, I made my way to a potluck dinner welcoming the ethno department's guest for the week, Morin spike fiddle performer Li Bo. 

UH flyer promoting Li Bo's residence events

On Sunday morning (February 13th), I took a lesson with him! It was much more difficult to produce a balanced tone than I imagined, and my fingernails really hurt after the lesson. Like other instruments I have studied, the purpose was not to become a professional performer, but rather understand basic technique so that I can feel confident composing for the instrument. Originally from Mongolia, Li Bo has lived in Tokyo for 16+ years and speaks Japanese quite well, so we had no problems communicating. 

Mongolian spike fiddle lesson with Li Bo

In the afternoon, I attended a UH dance recital entitled dancing greener," where "the word recycle was dropped in the creative hopper of each choreographer, director, and designer to serve as inspiration." (adapted from program). I was especially impressed with the music and set design for the first piece on the program, Debris Fantasy, a manifestation of a strange dream about trash coming to life. In the evening, I met with the "shakuhachi gang," and after catching up and playing show and tell with our flutes, Bob Herr took out his shakuhachi duets and trios and we had a blast sight reading through them. 

Promotional photo of Li Bo

Reading through quartets and trios with the "shakuhachi gang"

On Monday, the activities related to Li Bo's visit culminated with lecture/performance demonstration in the Music Dept. I am happy to say that his presence brought in a wide demographic. There were students and faculty from composition and ethnomusicology, as well as Chinese and Asian Studies. Charlotte D'Evelyn did a stellar job at translating for him, and he played a number of pieces that highlighted the expressive and technical potential of this instrument.

Charlotte D'Evelyn (l) and Li Bo (r)

Honolulu, HI – 1/31-2/18 Week 2

My second week in Honolulu was a non-stop whirlwind of various activities, mainly centered around the residency events of visiting ensemble CMEK (Contemporary Music Ensemble Korea).

"Contemporary Music Ensemble Korea (CMEK) was founded in 1998 for the purpose of creating new Korean music and to promote it to the world as one of the universal musical languages. CMEK mainly performs newly-composed ensemble pieces that use instruments and musical idioms of the two cultures. CMEK is interested in performing interdisciplinary works of music, performance and other genres and is recognized as one of the most promising ensembles of its kind. CMEK is considered a national treasure because of the new musical worlds it has opened up in Korea."


While the group consists of a dozen or so core members, only three members came to Honolulu for residency events this week; Ji-young Yi: kayagum, Chi-wan Park: piri, and Woong-sik Kim: janguu. 

The first event of their residency was held on Sunday, February 6th at the East-West Center, a concert of Korean Traditional Instrumental Music. I particularly enjoyed Chimhyang-moo (1974), composed by Byung-ku Hwang (b. 1936). I hadn't realized that he was a visiting artist at the East-West Center in 1965 when he was just 29 years old. After the concert, we went out to dinner at delicious Korean restaurant and I had an opportunity to chat with Ji-young Yi a bit.

On Monday, February 7th, CMEK presented an outreach event at the East-West Center for schoolchildren. The event was MC'd by my friend and colleague Sunhee Koo. In the evening they gave a concert at Kahala Nui, a retirement community close to the neighborhood where I used to live. 

On Tuesday, February 9th, I met Kenny Endo and his wife Chizuko for an udon lunch at Jimbo. I've known Kenny for ten years now, first meeting him in 2001 at the Earth Festival held on Sado Island off the coast of Niigata, Japan in the Japan sea. However, this was the first time that we sat down and enjoyed conversation over a meal. In the afternoon, there was a reading session of pieces composed by UH composers by CMEK. Despite the performer's constructive criticism of various passage in the pieces that they were requested to read through, I thought they did an excellent job of sight-reading through the pieces and giving a general idea of what it might sound like if they were worked up. These kind of opportunities are invaluable for young composers, especially when it involves writing for an instrument that one is not yet familiar with. In the evening, Kenny and Chizuko invited me to participate in a janguu workshop led by Woong-sik Kim at Halla Huhm, a Korean dance studio located on S. King St. I studied  janguu in 2005 for a four-week intensive in Korean Music held at the National Gugak Center, so most of what was covered was review for me. I even bought a janguu in Korea, though sadly, with few opportunities for performance, it sits in my living room as a decoration! 

Janguu workshop w/ Woong-sik Kim at Halla Huhm

Afterwards, Kenny invited me to observe a rehearsal at Kapiolani Community College of his ensemble, the Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble, in preparation for an upcoming performance. Many of the pieces in the repertoire were familiar to me, such as Oroshi-daiko and others, since I studied them with Miyauchi-sensei in Ryōgoku from 2000-2002. Evidently Kenny and Miyauchi-sensei were in Oedo Sukeroku Taiko many years ago together and learned this repertoire there. I was moved by a saying that was posted on the blackboard of his studio: "Tradition is a base for innovation." In some ways this saying concisely expresses my approach when composing for non-Western instruments.

The Kenny Endo Ensemble in rehearsal

On Wednesday, February 9th I met with Harry Hansen, an extremely talented film composer from Australia who currently resides in Honolulu. I did some recording for him in 2003 and he is just crazy about shakuhachi. We got together, showed each other our flutes, chatted about life in the music business, and just enjoyed each other's company for a few hours. We went to Waioli Tea Room for lunch and I was flattered to find the following posted on the shakuhachi forum later on in the day: http://shakuhachiforum.com/viewtopic.php?pid=36733 (scroll down to the bottom).


In the evening, I finally got a chance to get out of  Honolulu and went Kailua for  sunset swim with my friend Kathleen Sakaguchi, who is moving to Grand Forks, ND (!) this week. For dinner, we had a delicious meal at Buzz's Steak House. 

Kailua Beach Park sunset

On Thursday, February 10th, the three members of CMEK in Honolulu for residency events gave a workshop at the UH Music Department in composing for Korean instruments. Chi-wan Park discussed a number of wind instruments in addition to the piri. I had to cover my ears when he played the taepyeongso. Although it was the shortest of the three, I especially appreciated Ji-young Yi's presentation on the kayagum. She prepared a handout for us about contemporary notation for her instruments, and systematically demonstrated many techniques. Woong-sik Kim's presentation focused mainly on notation for the janguu, especially regarding how to indicate the relationship between the left and right hand mallet and bamboo stick parts in staff notation. In short, the less information the better (i.e. avoid notating rests in one part when the other part is playing).

Ji-young Yi discussing composing for the kayagum

In the evening I met two friends for dinner in Waikiki at Okonomiyaki Chibo. It wasn't all that bad but I found it terribly overpriced. I suppose it is unfair to compare prices in Honolulu to those in Tokyo, where you can have okonomiyaki for as low as 800 yen ($9.50). 

Waikiki Marina and Diamond Head from Magic Island

Ala Moana Shopping Center

On Friday afternoon I finally found an opportunity to visit two of my favorite places in Honolulu, Ala Moana Shopping Center and Magic Island. I managed to get in a quick swim before it started pouring, and snuck into Borders at Ward Center to pick up Na Palapai's latest album.


The CMEK residency activities culminated on Friday night, with a performance at Orvis Auditorium featuring compositions by UH faculty composers. My favorite piece on the program was below the sky, composed by Jon Magnussen (b. 1967), followed by Whence the Silence Pebble, composed by Takeo Kudo (b. 1942). In my opinion, Kudo's compositional language embodies the essence of musical understatement, and I find many of his works to be quite sublime. Not surprisingly, this sense of understatement permeates many of the Japanese arts and culture, including ikebana, theater, and even interior design. Perhaps his fascination with the shakuhachi since 1971 and his  identity as a second generation Japanese has influenced his compositional style...? The ensemble did an extraordinary job at bringing these new compositions to life, and it was sad to say goodbye to them at the end of the evening.

Honolulu, HI – 1/31-2/18 Week 1

On January 31st, travel and activities related to my junior sabbatical officially began. My first destination: Honolulu, HI. The flight to Honolulu from the east coast was grueling (17+ hours!). It takes less time to get to East Asia than it does to get to Hawaii. There were a few minor delays along the way (never transfer through Minneapolis in the winter!), and I arrived about an hour late, 10:30PM Hawaii time. The last leg from Seattle was quite taxing. At this point I had already spent five hours in the air and six hours waiting in terminals, yet still had a six-hour flight ahead of me. There was mild turbulence for most of the flight, and this combined with the fact that the woman next to me took up two seats and I sat next to the lavatories, where traffic never ceased to stop throughout the flight, resulted in a sleepless six hour hiatus. I had eaten some food in the terminal before departure but still found myself hungry in the middle of the flight, so I bought a meal. I usually enjoy catching up on movies when I fly, but Alaska Airlines rents personal entertainment units for a whopping $12, and the pre-installed movies were either flicks I had seen before or really not interested in. 


My first week in Honolulu was mainly spent preparing for Don Womack’s Composition Recital, held at the Honolulu Academy of Arts on February 4th. I performed two compositions featuring the shakuhachi on this concert; a duet for shakuhachi and violin entitled 立花 (Sword Flower), and trio for shakuhachi, koto, and violoncello entitled 破天 (Breaking Heaven).


Sword Flower was a tour-de-force for the shakuhachi, and a true test of my technique and agility on this otherwise sluggish instrument. While I wouldn’t go so far as to the say that the piece was not idiomatically-conceived, some of the lines were extremely difficult to execute smoothly on the five-holed shakuhachi, and required many hours of practice for me to feel comfortable with. Still, I wish I had a seven-holed shakuhachi so that some of the meri pitches could be executed in a kari position, which would result in less embouchure adjustment and hence smoother execution of certain passage. Regardless, I felt privileged to have been entrusted with this piece, and the process of working it up to performance I feel has brought my performance skills to a new level, especially because I had an opportunity to perform with violinist Iggy Jang, who used to be concertmaster of the Honolulu Symphony.

Rehearsing Sword Flower with Iggy Jang

These are the program notes of the work:

–The title comes from the name of the shakuhachi maker and player for whom the piece was written as a gift. Looking for a title in honor of Tachibana-san, I took characters from different words that are not normally combined and put them together to create a new word (a particular poetic license to which Japanese well lends itself). The characters literally mean “sword” and “flower,” and the piece itself reflects this duality, as the first half is sharp, angular and violent, in contrast to the quiet and graceful second half. Originally composed for shakuhachi duo, tonight’s performance is for shakuhachi and violin.–

Breaking Heaven was a more atmospheric and dramatic work. The challenge for me in this piece was finding balance amidst the undulating koto ostinati while blending imperceptibly with the violoncello. Additionally, there was an extended solo passage for the 2.4, A管 long shakuhachi, which I found challenging to play because of the sluggishness of my 2.4. As always, it is so difficult to describe music in prose, so I think I’ll leave it to the composer himself:

–The title refers to the seeking of balance amidst disruption and inevitable change. It is about finding a balance of natural harmony between the familiar and the unknown, which must, at some point, become the (new) familiar. Throughout much of the work the koto presents a gently undulating figuration over which the shakuhachi and cello sing long-breathed lines. Tension gradually builds and discord enters as “Heaven is slowly broken.” In the middle section the instruments struggle for amity, exchanging various ideas, sometimes in accord, sometimes in opposition. The final section sees a return to the opening material and a settling into a new balance in the “broken Heaven.”–

After one of our rehearsals, I asked if I could look around the museum, and what do you know? I was in luck, as it was a free day at the museum. When I was a student at UH Mānoa I was a student member of the Honolulu Academy of Arts and lived just a ten-minute walk up the road, so it was quite nostalgic to stroll through the exhibitions again. I really like the way the museum is designed. Like many architectural spaces in Honolulu, it takes advantage of Hawaii’s idyllic weather and combines indoor and outdoor spaces as part of the experience of visiting the museum. There are a number of courtyards with outdoor sculptures for example, and the museum cafe is open-air. This is a photo of perhaps my favorite courtyard in the museum complex:

Stone pond courtyard at the Honolulu Academy of  Arts

This week has been exceptionally busy. During the three years I spent at UH Mānoa (2002-2005), I can’t recall a week that was this packed with cultural events and things to do. Actually, Don Womack presented two concerts of his works at the Honolulu Academy of Arts,  one on Wednesday, February 2nd as well, and the pianist who performed Lunacy (2010), Ron Levy, gave a masterclass the next day at Orvis Auditorium and a piano recital in the evening. The first half of the concert featured works based on the theme of ‘water,’ so of course Debussy was represented, but he also played waterfall(s) (2006) by Don Womack and Iwa (1983) by Byron Yasui, among other works. The first half of the concert was long enough to be an entire program itself, but I decided for the second half to hear the original version of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (1874). Simply stunning! Held on February 4th, Womack's second concert was the one that I performed on. Sword Flower did not go as well as it did in rehearsal, but the energy was there and the audience seemed to appreciate our performance. We even received a curtain call! I especially enjoyed Blue Ridge Dreams (2007), "a collection of short pieces suggested by imagined experiences along the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Southern Appalachians."

Regan (l) and Womack (r)

This week I also had a rare opportunity to view art from North Korea, as the East-West Center at UH Mānoa is hosting an exhibition entitled Touching the Arts and Minds of the People: North Korean Art on Paper until May 8th, 2011.

One of the more solemn moments this week came on Saturday, February 5th at 5:00PM, as hundreds of UH students, faculty, and members of the community gathered to celebrate the life of Frances Mammana. Evidently, she passed away on January 27th after a 9-month battle with ALS. Frances and I spent some time together in spring 2006 when she was studying in Okinawa under the auspices of the Akihito Scholarship. She came up to Tokyo for a few days to meet the Emperor and Empress of Japan and we enjoyed exploring the city together. I've always admired her youthful spirit and vigor. The Kenny Endo Ensemble led off the evening activities, followed by everyone gathering in a huge circle, holding hands, and observing a moment of silence. Dinner was served, and I dedicated a solo shakuhachi performance of Tamuke to her.