MidAM International to Present World Premiere of ‘Phoenix: A Trilogy of Hope’

By Nicolas Quiroga

MidAm International will present the world premiere of “Phoenix: A Trilogy of Hope” by composer and conductor Chris Maunu on May 20, 2023 at Kawaiahao Church in Honolulu, Hawaii with the Honolulu Chamber Players.

“Phoenix” is a work written by Maunu in three movements: the first is a response to the COVID-19 pandemic; the second movement, “Alleluia Votum;” and the third is “May We Not Return,” with a message of radical self-reflection. The entire trilogy will be directed by Maunu himself.

Additionally, Allan Robert Petker will conduct choir and orchestra in the Hawaiian premiere of his “Dona Nobis Pacem,” a six-movement work based on the theme of social justice.

Finally, Mozart’s “Requiem in D minor” has been reserved for the final part of the concert and will be conducted by Peter Tiboris, founder, CEO and music director of MidAmerica Productions. The performance will feature soprano Eilana Lappalainen, mezzo-soprano Sarah Lambert Connelly, tenor Taka Komagata, and bass Robert Ellsworth Feng.

Conductor and composer Chris Maunu is the newly appointed Artistic Director of the Pacific Youth Choir in Portland, Oregon and teaches at Portland State University. For the
past 17 years he has been Choir Director at Arvada West High School in Colorado and has been a four-time Grammy Award finalist.

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