Brass Quintet Rocks St. Damien Church

The Honolulu Brass Quintet performed at St. Damien of Molokai Church last week. Photo by Léo Azambuja

By Léo Azambuja

Who goes to church on a Monday evening to listen in complete silence for an entire hour to five guys who are not even there to preach? To be fair, you could make some noise; you were allowed to clap. 

“We have the freedom to kind of play whatever we want, so a lot of the music that we’re going to play are arrangements for the Brass Quintet,” trumpet player Casey Tamahana said while comparing a quintet to a large ensemble led by a conductor, where “the notes on the page are dictated for you, the tempo is dictated for you and the style is pretty much dictated for you based on when it was written.”

The Honolulu Brass Quintet — Tamahaha, Gabe Cruz on the trombone, T.J. Rice on the tuba, David Nakazono on the trumpet, and Colton Hironaka on the horn — nearly filled St. Damien of Molokai Church in Kaunakakai during their free concert May 18. The audience, hooked on the performance, listened in complete silence and stillness, aside from gazing looks and subtle smiles, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. 

The first half of the show kept it classical, with potent arrangements crafted when Europeans were still living under monarchies hundreds of years ago. The second half of the quintet’s performance crossed the Atlantic during modern times, landing in compositions inspired by tales of immigration to the United States, the swinging beats of New Orleans and the dancing rhythms of Brazilian samba.

Speaking to the audience in between performances, Tamahana said it’s a “magical feeling” when you have “that really nice group sound” producing resonance and overtones. It’s one of the greatest feelings, he said.

“One of the things I have to watch out for when I’m playing in this particular group is to not listen to my colleagues too much and enjoy what they’re doing, so that I don’t lose track of where I am,” Tamahana said. 

The show couldn’t have ended in a more dramatic and grand way. The group performed Elmer Bernstein’s heroic theme from The Magnificent Seven, a 1960-movie based on Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai and starred by iconic actors such as Steve McQueen, Yul Brynner, Charles Bronson and James Coburn.

Molokai Arts Center Executive Director Alice Kaʻahanui said the event was a collaboration between MAC, the church and Chamber Music Hawaiʻi.

The crowd attending the concert at the church was made of mostly older residents and only a handful of young children. But that doesn’t mean trumpets, trombones, horns and tubas aren’t for the keiki. Earlier in the day, the Honolulu Brass Quintet visited Maunaloa and Kualapuʻu elementary schools, playing and interacting with the kids.

“The kids were so receptive to it. They were very well behaved. They loved to listen,” Cruz said, adding he could tell the kids don’t hear that kind of music that often. 

Tamahana said the kids’ favorite part was seeing the instruments up close. 

“They all got to push the buttons and slides and stuff, so hopefully it got them inspired to at least try an instrument one day,” Tamahana said, adding one of the best parts of the band’s job is being able to do educational concerts. “So many people helped us growing up, and it’s impossible to give back, so the only thing we can do is pay it forward.”

This is the second time the Honolulu Brass Quintet has come to Molokai. But only him and Rice were part of that group. Tamahana said they have really changed their repertoire since the last time on Molokai, and included music from recitals in the past two years. 

“I don’t think we repeated anything from the last time (on Molokai). So, it’s really fun to be able to share that music,” he said.

Since its inception in 1976, the Honolulu Brass Quintet has performed throughout the Hawaiian Islands. One of three resident ensembles presented by Chamber Music Hawai‘i, the quintet regularly performs in venues across O‘ahu, such as Doris Duke Theatre, Blue Note Hawai‘i and Palikū Theatre, according to Chamber Music Hawai‘i’s website.

Its members are all full-time professional musicians who perform with the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra and Royal Hawaiian Band, and teach at UH Mānoa, BYU, Punahou and ‘Iolani. 

Visit www.chambermusichawaii.org for more information.