East West Players Launches 55th Season With December Concert Featuring Hawaiian Artist Daniel Ho

East West Players, the nation's longest running theatre of color and the largest producer of Asian American artistic work, is excited to announce a premier livestream concert to kick off their 55th anniversary season, Between Worlds.

The show features multiple GRAMMY-winning Hawaiian musician Daniel Ho. The concert will be the first to bring music to the East West Players stage since Los Angeles theaters were shut down earlier this year. The show was safely filmed at the David Henry Hwang Theater in Little Tokyo earlier this month.

The concert will broadcast via livestream December 19, 2020 7 PM PST with a post-show Q & A to follow. Video-On-Demand of the show will be available for purchase December 20th 2020 - January 4th 2021. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.eastwestplayers.org.

Daniel is a six-time GRAMMY Award-winning producer and artist in the Best Hawaiian Music, Best Pop Instrumental and Best World Music categories. Other accolades include fourteen GRAMMY nominations, six Golden Melody awards, three Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards and fifteen Hawaii Music Awards. As a solo artist, Daniel has toured throughout the U.S. and around the world. Daniel's collaborations transcend genres, from world music with Mongolian nomads, to classical guitar and ukulele duets with Pepe Romero, to driving rock riffs with electric guitarist Tak Matsumoto. As an educator, Daniel has guest-lectured at Stanford University, UCLA and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. In 2019, he launched "Ukulele World," an online instructional program with YAMAHA's Musician's Creativity Lab. Daniel also designs instruments, including the Bongolele and Shakerlele for Ohana Ukuleles and the iconic Tiny Tenor `ukulele with renowned luthier Pepe Romero Jr. Daniel's original song, "Pineapple Mango (The Breakfast Song)", has risen to fame as an anthem covered by ʻukulele enthusiasts on YouTube. Most recently, Daniel has collaborated with author Sam O'Neal and choreographer Keali`i Ceballos to create the original musical, Pineapple Mango. Always on the move, Daniel is in infinite pursuit of new musical adventures.

Featuring:

KEALI`I CEBALLOS is a hula journeyman attributing his love for hula to his parents. In 1991, Kealiʻi founded Hālau Hula Kealiʻi O Nālani. In its 28th year, the Hālau has performed in prestigious events nationally and internationally. In addition to his work with the hālau, Kealiʻi teaches in Japan, UCLA's Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance and Santa Monica College. His talent has led to associations with films such as Soul Surfer, Bedtime Stories, Dance with Me, Rapa Nui and Salsa. In 2011, Kealiʻi was honored by the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors for 20 years of cultural service to the Los Angeles Community.

KANANI TOJI Under the direction of her kumu, Keali'i Ceballos of Hālau Hula Keali'i O Nālani, Kanani has competed and performed as a hula dancer all around the world for 25+ years. She has won the titles of Miss E Hula Mau, Miss Iā 'Oe E Ka Lā and Miss Hula Hō'ike Hawai'i. She is an annual competitor at the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival in Hilo, Hawai'i and has most notably performed at the Hollywood Bowl, Disneyland and Osaka-jō Hall in Osaka, Japan.

Randy Drake (DRUMS) began playing drums at age twelve. A New Hampshire native, he attended the University of North Texas and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies. He received his Master of Music degree in Jazz Studies from California State University, Long Beach. He has toured Japan with guitarist Masayoshi Takanaka, played across the United States with Englebert Humperdinck, and also performed, recorded and toured with jazz-pop artist Daniel Ho and Kilauea. Randy continues to record and perform with Daniel Ho, Jennifer Leitham and San Gabriel Seven. LA Times jazz critic Don Heckman commented, "Shelly Berg, working in emphatic unity with Chuck Berghofer and Randy Drake, affirms that jazz can (and should) touch the senses, the emotions and the mind."