Dr. Michael Hannawald will offer an intensive astronomy course at Kauai Community College, including labs, for the six-week period of June 12 to July 25. The course is ideal for anyone who would like to learn about stars and the use of telescopes. No previous knowledge is required. There is the possibility of hands-on use of a telescope to learn how to take pictures of objects. Class members will also make use of the college’s planetarium. Information: mwh@hawaii.edu or 245-8250.
Spanish 101 is being offered in the fall semester as a four-credit hybrid class, meaning that it will meet on the KCC campus only two days a week for three hours, with an additional hour online. Information: Mary Fatora-Tumbaga at fatoratu@hawaii.edu or 245-8370.
The KCC instrumental music program, headed by Sarah Tochiki, announces its spring concerts:
• Saturday, May 4 at 7 p.m., the Wind Symphony will be joined by the Kauai Youth Honor Band, with Warrant Officer Stephen J. Talbot of the U.S. Marine Corps Pacific Band as guest conductor.
• Saturday, May 11 at 7 p.m., the Jazz Ensemble will be joined by jazz bands from Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School and Kauai High School. DeShannon Higa will be the guest trumpeter.
• The Symphony Orchestra will perform a Mother’s Day concert on Sunday, May 12, at 4 p.m.
All concerts will be held in the KCC Performing Arts Center, and all are free with donations gratefully accepted at the door. Information: www.kccinstrumentalmusic.org or call 387-6772.
In preparation for a major musical theater production in spring 2020, the music and theater program will offer beginning dance (listed in the catalog as MUS 220, Musical Theatre) and beginning acting (THEA 221) in the fall semester.
Participation in the musical is not a requirement for either class. The musical will be an original work by Greg Shepherd titled “Siddhartha,” adapted from the groundbreaking novel by German author Hermann Hesse.
The work updates the title character’s search for identity in the contemporary world, and takes up the themes of religious dissension, the nature of truth and the redemptive power of love. The musical will have six performances at KCC in May, 2020.
Additionally, MUS 201, vocal ensemble, will be offered starting this August as well. The ensemble will be an opportunity to sing in a chorus, with optional solo singing opportunities. No audition or previous experience is required, although the ability to sing in tune is more than helpful. Piano I and piano II will also be offered in the fall semester. For information on the upcoming fall semester music and theatre courses, or the “Siddhartha” musical, contact Shepherd at 245-8269 or shep@hawaii.edu.
“News from KCC” offers a chance for the community to get to know more about the island’s only institution of higher education. Beginning in September we will highlight the people, places and events that make the college the hub of so much of what happens on Kauai. We welcome comments and suggestions for future columns, and also welcome the opportunity to keep the community up to date about goings-on at our Puhi campus.
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Greg Shepherd is a professor of music at KCC.
