Leilehua Lanzilotti

ahupuaʻa — string quartet (2022)

Co-commissioned by Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, sponsored by Leslie Tolbert & Paul St John; and as a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project by Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center, Newman Center for the Performing Arts at University of Denver, ArtPower at UC San Diego, and NPN. The Creation & Development Fund is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency). For more information: www.npnweb.org // The audio & video recording, as well as costuming for “Storytelling Ahupuaʻa” is a National Performance Network (NPN) Documentation & Storytelling Fund Project supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Duration 11’

The subject of the new work is the Hawaiian concept of ahupuaʻa—land division centered around community needs.

Educational Resources

Life in Early Hawaiʻi: The Ahupuaʻa. Compiled by the Kamehameha Schools Hawaiian Studies Institute Staff. Softcover, 59 pp.

Ahupuaʻa Poster by Mary Kahalewai. The large full-color poster depicts many of the aspects of pre-contact Hawaiian life before foreign influences changed the environment and lifestyle of the Hawaiian people. It is the inspiration for the book Life in Early Hawaiʻi: The Ahupuaʻa.

Mālama Wai Kit. A FREE printable activity booklet developed by Kamehameha Schools with illustrations by Kelsie Dayna filled with activities to explore the water cycle with your students. Grade Level(s): Preschool, Kindergarten, 1st–5th Grade. Subject(s): Arts, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Math. Learn where we get our fresh water, how we get it to our homes, and how we can take care of it.

Hele nō ka ʻalā, hele nō ka lima. An educational resource from Hoʻokuaʻāina on this ʻōlelo noʻeau about the importance of focus towards developing excellence.

Maui Nui Ahupuaʻa Project in partnership with Brilliant Minds Media Inc. produced a series of following educational videos to help raise awareness about the ahupua‘a system. The video project was funded by the Kahului Economic Development, Environmental, and Cultural Programs and managed through County of Maui Office of Economic Development.

Upcoming Performances

Friday, March 8, 2024 — Sound of Mind, presented by the soloists from the Melbourne Strings (Sophia Kirsanova & Lucy Warren, violins; Molly Collier O’Boyle, viola; Ye Jin Choi & Katrina Wang, cellos), Brunswick Music Festival, Brunswick, Victoria, Australia

Past Performances

Sunday, January 28, 2024 — Wild Up, performs Sky Gate, ahupuaʻa, hānau ka ua, koʻu inoa, and beyond the accident of time, followed by a set featuring the music of inti figgis-vizueta, Darkness Sounding, Floating + TreePeople, Los Angeles, CA More Info

Wednesday, January 17, 2024 — Argus Quartet, Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, Tucson, AZ

Thursday, October 12, 2023 — Sofija Kirsanova, Jessica Leigh, Alice Hurwood, Katrina Wang (version for 2 vln, 2 vlc), Australian Premiere, the strong pulse beneath the charred earth: the musical world of Leilehua Lanzilotti, Hanson Dyer Hall, University of Melbourne, Australia

Sunday, April 2, 2023 — Argus Quartet, Newman Center for the Performing Arts, University of Denver, CO

Saturday, March 25, 2023 — Argus Quartet, Arts for Life series, The Carpenter Performing Arts Center, CSULB, CA: “CSULB’s Carpenter Center brings art to life for local children, community”

Thursday, March 9, 2023 — Argus Quartet, World Premiere, ArtPower, University of California San Diego, CA

Saturday, October 15, 2022 — Argus Quartet (soft premiere), West Kortright Centre, Meredith, NY