Live from the Atherton: Stories From the Top!
About this Event
Live from the Atherton Storytellers' Series:
Stories From the Top! with Taiga Benito and Joshua Nakazawa
Thursday, August 6 at 6 p.m.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Since 2000 From the Top and its young musician showcase has brightened our Saturday mornings on HPR2. Join us for a special live evening hosted by Sharene Taba, and hear Stories From the Top Hawaiʻi with Musicians Joshua Nakazawa and Taiga Benito. Through heartfelt reflections and behind-the-scenes moments, they will share what the experience meant to them, how their journeys shaped their music, and what it’s like to represent Hawaiʻi on a national stage or making their way to Hawaiʻi from the East Coast. This event is a celebration of local talent, community, and the power of performance, with Sharene Taba guiding the conversation from “From the Top” highlights to the musicians’ stories beyond the spotlight!
https://fromthetop.org/
About the Artists:
Taiga Benito - Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, Taiga Benito is an emerging artist and double bassist. Strongly engaged in orchestral music, he is currently the Assistant Principal Bassist of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, Section Bassist of the Owensboro Symphony, and Acting Per Service Section Bassist of the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra. Previously, he was an Associate Member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago during the 2021-2022 season. As a chamber musician, he has been frequently invited to play with the Starling Chamber Orchestra lead and organized by violin pedagogue and professor, Kurt Sassmannshaus. As a student, Benito received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where he studied under the guidance of Rachel Calin and received instruction from Owen Lee. While he was at CCM, he also received chamber music instruction from the Ariel Quartet and violist, Ayane Kozasa. He is currently pursuing a Performance Diploma in Orchestral Studies at the Jacobs School of Music in Indiana University Bloomington where he is under the guidance of Kurt Muroki and receiving instruction from Jeffrey Turner. He has previously attended the Fresno Summer Music Academy’s FOOSA Philharmonic, Brevard Music Center, and the National Orchestral Institute + Festival. Benito currently plays on a bass made in 2010 by Christopher Savino and a bow made by Percival Wilfred Bryant (1902-1994).
Joshua Nakazawa is currently a tenured member of the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra and has performed with many other symphonies including The National Arts Centre Orchestra, The Charleston Symphony Orchestra, and New Haven Symphony. He has performed on stage across many genres with top artist including most recently including Nobuyuki Tsujii, Smokey Robinson, Jake Shimabukuro, Jack Johnson, Eric Gales, Robert Cazimero, and many more. As an educator he taught as a licensed strings teacher in the Newton Public Schools in MA, and he created the visually stunning video teaching series “Zero to Bach in 4 months” on https://cello.vhx.tv a full fledged course for beginner cellist. Joshua is a longtime supporter of community music outreach education and is always looking for fun and creative ways to tie culture, passion, people, and music together. He founded his company Mana Music Hawaii in 2017, and cofounded the Mana Music String Quartet which won a Na Hoku Hanohano Award for their album “Queen Lili’uokalani” in 2021 for Instrumental Album of the Year. His most recent endeavors involve connecting performance and nature together using a Flax Fiber cello- he recorded the world’s first live performance inside of an ice glacier. You can watch it here:
He will be releasing several videos from Volcano National Park in 2026. For more information about Joshua visit him at www.manamusichawaii.com and follow him in Instagram @manamusichawaii
Sharene Keli`ipunilei Lum Taba is a harpist and is married to Jazz bassist and educator, Dean Taba. They have two full-grown children: daughter Matin is a classical bassist in Portland, Oregon, and son Josh and his wife, Baijun, are both artists in Providence, Rhode Island.
The Tabas spend their free time listening to music, walking with their pomchi Ube, and watching Dodgers baseball.
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Live from the Atherton series begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Doors open thirty minutes before the show starts.
This event will be filmed, recorded and photographed. Your presence constitutes your release of all rights to your recorded voice and image, which may be used in projects by Hawaiʻi Public Radio.
Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis — advance ticket purchase or reservation is strongly suggested.
Ticket Policy: Ticket sales are final. Sorry, no refunds.
Parking: Street parking is available in the surrounding neighborhood (metered parking is free after 6 p.m.).
Mahalo to HMSA for their sponsorship of our HPR “Live from the Atherton” events.
HPR exists to serve the people of Hawai’i. We are a trusted, community-funded public service that informs with essential news, inspires through the power of music and the arts, and connects people through conversations and convenings.
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PARKING: Street parking is available in the surrounding neighborhood (metered parking is free after 6 pm). See more information here: https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/parking-instructions
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00
