The Kauai Concert Association wraps up its 40th concert season Sunday with a performance by the Galliard String Quartet & Friends.
The Galliard String Quartet, part of the Chamber Music Hawaii and considered Hawaii’s premier string quartet, performs programs including the works of such favorite composers as Mozart, Hayden, Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms.
Jason Blake, president of KCA, said he is proud to host GSQ — Hawaii’s most constant ensemble to earn world renown status.
“Additionally, they are adding two strings to the concert so it will actually be a sextet and they are playing two pieces rarely seen in Hawaii, and especially not on Kauai, as they are arranged for six strings,” he said.
Blake said GSQ is also beloved for their first album “Songs of Liliuokalani,” a repertoire of songs written by Queen Liliuokalani, including “Aloha ‘Oe,” “Puia Ka Nahele,” the “Queen’s Prayer,” and many more.
On Sunday, the group will perform Johannes Brahms’ “Sextet No. 1,” Franz Schubert’s “Quintet” and selections from “Songs of Liliuokalani.”
The concert begins at 4 p.m. at the Kauai Community College Performing Arts Center in Puhi.
“Music of the masters is the Galliard’s forte, but the group’s repertoire also includes Strauss waltzes, romantic interludes, light classics, Hawaiian music, popular music, and more,” states their website.
Blake called Kauai Concert Association’s 2013/14 season as its “most comprehensive and ambitious” in years, with groups as diverse as The Brasil Guitar Duo to The Nylons.
“KCA is entering 2014 as its 40th year of service on the island and felt (like) ending the season with a world-class classical concert, on which the association was founded,” he said. “It was a double-bonus to get Hawaii’s own Galliard to perform here this year and the pieces they are presenting are seldom heard on Kauai or throughout Hawaii, as a professional six-string ensemble is becoming a rarer and rarer jewel.
Tickets for Galliard String Quartet & Friends cost $30 for adults, $10 for students. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.kauai-concert.org or call 245-7464.
