THURSDAY, JULY 16

Iggy, Chee-Yun and Friends come to Oahu to play

For the last few years, Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Iggy Jang has been spending his summer in Kamuela, on Hawaii island, teaching at an intensive music camp as part of the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival.

This Thursday, some of that talent will come to Honolulu for a concert of chamber music called Iggy, Chee-Yun and Friends. "Some of the pieces will feature our faculty members, and for others we will have an orchestra made up of students at the festival," said Jang, director of the string and chamber music programs at the festival, which began as a camp for singers.

Jang has assembled an impressive list of professionals to teach and perform at the festival, including touring violinist Chee-Yun, pictured, who performed during the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra’s debut season; violinist Eugene Chukhlov, a respected teacher and performer who hails from an illustrious family of Russian musicians; violist Igor Veligan, a Russian-trained musician now based in California; and cellist Parry Karp, a longtime member of the famed Pro Arte Quartet. 

They in turn bring many of their students, ranging from middle and high school to college, to Hawaii for the festival. "Some of them have been practicing together since before the camp began," Jang said. Hawaii students also join in.

Thursday’s concert will feature a wide variety of music for chamber groups and small orchestra. Included on the program are selections from string quartets by Shostakovich, Brahms, Borodin, Haydn and Smetana; Tchaikovsky’s String Sextet "Souvenir de Florence"; a double violin concerto by Vivaldi; and Schumann’s Cello Concerto, featuring Karp. Chee-Yun will be featured playing selections from tango master Astor Piazzolla’s snazzy "Four Seasons of Buenos Aires" suite.

Where: Doris Duke Theatre, Honolulu Museum of Art

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday

Cost: $15-$25

Info: honolulumuseum.org or 532-6097

FRIDAY, JULY 17

Dread Ashanti set to perform Chinatown gig

Resurrected reggae band Dread Ashanti, pictured, headlines the Clampdown, a music showcase focusing on punk, hardcore, ska, indie rock and experimental music at the Downbeat Diner & Lounge.

Back in the ’90s, Dread Ashanti became one of Hawaii’s most popular reggae bands. It was formed in Kailua by high school students Bryce Myers on drums and Ian Masterson on guitar. They were joined by classically trained pianist Shawn Moseley (who later went on to run ‘Aumakua Records), bass player Pat Morley and lead singer Ital.

The group produced two well-received albums before disbanding in 2000, but staged a comeback a couple of years ago with new guitarist Shawn McKay and lead singer Gabe Jameson joining Myers, Masterson, Moseley and Morley.

In December the band released a new album, "At the Heart of It."

Joining Dread Ashanti on Friday are the Urchinz, who blend reggae, ska and rock with jazz; rock band the 4th Wall; and DJ Jetboy.

Where: Downbeat Diner & Lounge, 42 N. Hotel St. 

When: 9 p.m. Friday

Cost: $5

Info: downbeatdiner.com or 533-2328

SATURDAY, JULY 18

Garden party to feature Shakespeare, drumming 

Celebrate the magic of the season at Midsummer Night’s Gleam, the city’s annual midsummer festival at Foster Botanical Garden.

Shakespeare’s "A Midsummer Night’s Dream," which is set in an enchanted forest, inspired the event, which started back in the 1960s. The 14-acre historical site, Honolulu’s oldest botanical garden, will be gilded with the light from more than 2,500 luminaries along its pathways.

The evening includes an excerpt of Shakespeare’s rollicking romantic comedy presented by actors from the Hawaii Shakespeare Festival. Another section of the garden will host historical re-creations by the Khanate of the Golden Horde, a group that enacts battle scenes from 13th- to 16th-century Mongolia.

Family-friendly activities will be held throughout the gardens, including storytelling, African-style drumming, chess with Chess Hawaii, Lego projects with Leahi Lego, and music by Skylark and the Air Force Hana Hou Band. 

Where: Foster Botanical Garden

When: 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday 

Cost: Free

Info: friendsofhonolulubotanicalgardens.com/events.htm or 522-7066

SUNDAY, JULY 19

Performances at UH put the Asia Pacific Dance Festival in the spotlight

The Asia Pacific Dance Festival gets into full swing this weekend with "Local Motion!" The concert features the diversity of dance within Hawaii.

Local dance companies and choreographers will perform in the concert, the first major performance of the festival.

"We tried to have a wide mix of styles and forms and traditions," said Tim Slaughter of the University of Hawaii’s Outreach College, organizer of the festival.

Featured performers include classical Western dance with Ballet Hawaii; the traditional dance-pantomime Japanese style Nihon Buyo with the Kikunobu Dance Company; contemporary dance with University of Hawaii professors Kara Miller and Sami Akuna, who will collaborate with  slam poet Sam Skeist; and traditional Balinese dance with Pasupati, featuring UH lecturers Annie Reynolds and I Made Widana performing "in full costume and full makeup," Slaughter said.

Kent Shinomae, a UH graduate, has developed a "magic" piece that will be included in the program.

"He actually does magic as part of the dance," Slaughter said. "It’s pretty magical but he does magic, too."

Yukie Shiroma will perform her unique mix of traditional and modern Okinawan dance, incorporating throat singers in one of her works.

Hawaiian culture and history will be represented by the Wai Company, led by choreographer and aerial artist Wailana Simcock, who composed a piece that tells the story of the creation of the Hawaiian Islands, Slaughter said.

Where: Kennedy Theatre 

When: 2 p.m. Sunday. Other concerts: Churasa, a youth performing arts group from Okinawa that blends contemporary style into traditional Okinawan folk dancing, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday; Ballet Philippines, pictured, Oceania Dance Theatre of Fiji and Halau i ka Wekiu will perform at 7:30 p.m. July 25 and 2 p.m. July 26. 

Cost: $10-$25

Info: outreach.hawaii.edu or 956-7655