06/24/2025
The Aloha Center Ballroom was filled with sounds of violins, violas, cellos and string basses during the Seasider Chamber Strings’ performance, Ka Mele Ho’opa’apa’a: The Music that Moves You, on Friday, June 20. With pieces ranging from polka to waltz to tango, the ensemble took the audience on a journey through classical music.
Music has a way to connect to people’s emotions, said Annalee Katzoff, adjunct faculty and conductor. In the piece, “Aase’s Death,” she explained, “You feel this intensity of loss and mourning and regret … [and then] the sound just dies away. I feel like with those kinds of movements, we can all relate to things [or people] that we've lost.”
While selecting music for the performance, Katzoff shared, “It wasn’t a direct thought, but eventually it became like, ‘Ooh, all this music moves me or makes me want to dance.’” That realization, she said, inspired the theme. “All of these pieces truly touched me in one way or another. They're fun, happy or soul-stirring,” she added.
Liana Gho, a freshman cellist from Alaska, said out of all 12 pieces performed, her favorites were “Tico Tico” and “Waltz No. 2.” She shared, “They're both really good dance songs. ‘Tico Tico’ was just so fun, lively and energetic, and ‘Waltz No. 2’ is a really moving piece. It’s very smooth and blended.”
Gho said in preparation for the performance, the chamber practiced frequently both inside and outside of class, so she was excited to finally perform. “I really like performing because it’s a way to bring our music to other people. Instead of just playing it for ourselves, we can get it to other people,” she shared.
Robin Kang, a senior from South Korea majoring in economics and supply chain operations, said he initially attended the performance as a requirement for his Music 103 class, “But it’s more than that. I also wanted to listen to some good, classical music, and this string session was a great opportunity.”
✍️ Abigail Adams
📸 Hiroki Konno
