The 2012 Maui Invitational Music Festival presents a free classical

music concert on Saturday, May 26 from 4-6:30pm at the Baldwin Home,

Front Street in Lahaina. The public is invited to enjoy performances

by some of Maui’s best classical musicians and students. Maui Brass

Ensemble under the direction of Lisa Owen, harpist Tatyana Shapiro-

Leiste, and soprano Lisa Paulson are featured along with high school

students Sharon Nakama and Skyler Mendoza.

The Maui Brass Ensemble is performing works by Mouret (Masterworks

Theater Theme), Handel, Bach, Joplin, and more. The Ensemble consists

of Julius Galanto and Lance Jo, trumpets; Sue Nakama, French horn;

Stephen Rodrigues, trombone; Lisa Owen, tuba and leader. For more

than twenty years, the Maui Brass Ensemble has performed on Maui

specializing in classical music and popular annual holiday concerts.

Members are top notch musicians and regular performers with Maui Pops

and the Maui Community Band. Lisa Owen, tuba player and leader of the

group, has played professionally both in Europe and the United States.

Works for classical solo harp and opera favorites, being performed by

harpist Tatyana Shapiro-Leiste and soprano Lisa Paulson, include

music by Italian, French and Russian composers such as "Norma" by

Bellini, "Moldau" by Smetana, "Samson and Dalilah" by Saint-Saens and

more. Tatyana Shaprio-Leiste is a professional, classically-trained

concert harpist from St. Petersburg, Russia. She works as an

orchestra harpist and solo performer, recording artist, composer and

arranger, and private harp and piano teacher. She has performed on

television and was seen in one of the 2010 “Dancing with the Stars”

episodes. Lisa Paulson has been singing professionally for 26 years

including performances in local productions of “Honk!,” “King and I,”

“Annie,” and “Cats.” She has been a featured soloist in many of

Maui's classical concerts and was a 2004 HPR Art Song Contest winner.

Sharon Nakama, an outstanding young oboist, also plays the piano.

After graduating from high school, she plans to attend University of

Nevada at Las Vegas as a music major. Skyler Mendoza is an

extraordinary pianist who also plays all the percussion instruments.

He is headed for the University of Washington as a medical student

with music as a minor. In addition to their regular school groups,

both Sharon and Skyler play in the Maui Pops, Maui Community Band,

Honolulu Youth Symphony, and Maui Youth Symphony. They are

performing “Fantasia “ for oboe and piano by Pasculli; “Romance” for

oboe and piano by Schumann; and, “Tambourin” for xylophone and piano

among other selections.

Paid parking is available behind the Baldwin Home (enter from

Dickenson Street) and proceeds go toward the preservation and

continued maintenance of all Lahaina's historic sites.

The annual Maui Invitational Music Festival is presented by Arts

Education for Children Group (AECG), a nonprofit organization founded

in 1996 that is dedicated to providing opportunities for artistic and

cultural enrichment. The Festival is supported by the County of Maui

Office of Economic Development and Hawai‘i Tourism Authority.

For more information, call (808) 283-3576 or visit www.aecg.org.