LIHUE — Under the direction of music director Hiroyuku Tanaka, the Kyoto Tachibana High School Marching Band will perform its high-energy, precision music and marching in concert Aug. 21 at the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall starting at 6:30 p.m.
LIHUE — Under the direction of music director Hiroyuku Tanaka, the Kyoto Tachibana High School Marching Band will perform its high-energy, precision music and marching in concert Aug. 21 at the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall starting at 6:30 p.m.
A smaller version of the presentation will take place Friday at Kukui Grove Center at 11:30 a.m.
There is no admission for either of the concerts, but donations are welcomed. Donations will benefit Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School Band and Kauai High School Band programs, which share the responsibility of hosting the visiting award-winning band.
This is the seventh time the Kyoto Tachibana Marching Band has visited Kauai, including a visit following Hurricane Iniki when they turned over all of the proceeds from their concert to help the people of Kauai recover from the storm.
The band is made up of 99 girls and seven boys and has returned to Kauai every three years since 1998. Kyoto Tachibana Marching Band has performed at the 1996 World Olympic Games in Atlanta, twice at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and has earned acclaim as one of Japan’s first high school marching bands to win a number of local and national awards since being formed in 1961.
Since 1998, the Tachibana band has contributed more than $16,000 to the Kauai High School Band Boosters Club and Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School Band.
During its concert presentations, the audience will be treated to numbers like “Super Mario Brothers,” a Japanese samba, “Kaze Ni Naritai (I Want to be the Wind),” a collection of songs by the late singer Kyu Sakamoto who is known for “Sukiyaki,” and big band arrangements including “Sing Sing Sing,” “Love Machine” and “Stars and Stripes Forever,” and some surprise performances.
The band will also perform a “Marching Show” as featured at Osaka Dome Baseball Stadium Dome.
Proceeds from the concert will benefit the Kauai All-State Band under the direction of Sarah Tochiki of Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School, and the Kauai High School Band Boosters.
In May, the Kauai All-State Band, comprised of band students from Kauai, performed at the National Memorial Day parade and Concert Series in Washington, D.C.
The concert is supported by the County of Kauai, and Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. who visited the Kyoto Tachibana High School in November 2015 and met with its headmaster.
Kyoto is the ancient capital of Japan which located in the western region near Osaka and is Japan’s top visitor destination and attraction.
