Café Espressivo

• $40 General Admission $5 Student Tickets Be transported to the cafés of Buenos Aires and Paris, where music, conversation, and late-night energy blur together long after the lights go down. Café Espressivo features guitarist Jeff Peterson with the Galliard String Quartet and pianist Jonathan Korth in a program that blends classical and contemporary styles with tango, jazz-inflected chamber music, and expressive new sounds. From the elegance of Piazzolla to the energy of Schoenfeld’s Café Music, this concert pulses with rhythm, color, and cinematic charm. Program: PIAZZOLLA: Histoire du Tango BUNCH: Slow Dance PETERSON: Originals DYENS: Tango en Skai PIAZZOLLA: Le Grand Tango SCHOENFELD: Café Music Get Tickets Here Add to calendar Google Calendar iCalendar Outlook 365 Outlook Live Jeff Peterson Recognized as one of Hawaii’s most versatile musicians, Jeff Peterson is at the heart of the Hawaiian music scene today. His passion for the guitar has allowed him to shine as a solo artist and has given him the opportunity to collaborate with a wide variety of artists from Hawaii, across the US, and abroad. His focus on Slack Key guitar, classical, and jazz music has allowed him to develop a unique and transcendent voice on the guitar while being deeply rooted in the traditions of his Hawaiian heritage. He has contributed to two Grammy Award-winning recordings and has been honored with fourteen Na Hoku Hanohano Awards in Hawaii. His solo CD Maui on My Mind was recognized as the Slack Key Album of the Year and received a Grammy nomination in 2010. His next release featured his songwriting, performing, and producing on Amy Hanaiali‘i and Slack Key Masters of Hawaii. The groundbreaking recording features a collaboration between Jeff, Amy Hanaialii, Cyril Pahinui, Dennis Kamakahi, Sonny Lim, and Chino Montero. His next release titled Slack Key Travels includes twelve new compositions and new arrangements of classic Hawaiian songs and won the 2014 Hoku Award for Best Slack Key Album. Jeff’s solo album O’ahu won two Hoku Awards in 2016 for Slack Key Album of the Year and instrumental song of the year for the song Old Pali. His latest release Wahi Pana is a full length performance and documentary film and CD soundtrack. Jeff premiered composed and performed the first ever Concerto for Slack Key Guitar and Orchestra in 2016 with the Raleigh Civic Chamber Orchestra. The piece is featured in Wahi Pana, Songs of Place, which is a full length performance and documentary film with a CD soundtrack featuring slack key, classical, jazz, and world music along with background on Jeff’s life, music, travels, and collaborations. Current projects have included an instructional DVD on slack key guitar and the 2018 Na Hoku Hanohano Instrumental Album of the Year Across the Sea featuring Tsun Hui Hung on erhu and Greg Sardina on steel guitar. He most recent solo album Paniolo Son was awarded Slack Key Album of the year in 2024. Jeff is a 2018 Native Arts & Cultures Foundation Fellow and 2018 First People’s Fund Fellow. Born on the Island of Maui, Jeff Peterson grew up on the slopes of Haleakala where he was introduced to the rich heritage of Hawaiian music by his father, a paniolo, or Hawaiian cowboy, on the Haleakala Ranch. As a performer, Jeff has had the honor to work with a wide range of artists and groups including Eric Clapton, James Galway, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Aaron Neville, Boz Scaggs, the Honolulu Symphony, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Keola Beamer, Nathan Aweau, Amy Hanaiali’i, The Matt Catingub Orchestra of Hawaii, jazz bassist Rufus Reid, shakuhachi master Riley Lee, Taiko master Kenny Endo, Classical guitarist Benjamin Verdery, Hindustani Slide guitarist Debashish Bhattacharya, the acclaimed string quartet Ethel, and with many other artists in the fields of Hawaiian, classical, and jazz music. He has four recordings with Riley Lee: “Maui Morning”, “Bamboo Slack Key”, “Haiku”, and “Haleakala”. He also released seven solo guitar recording featuring his slack key artistry, “Oahu”, “Slack Key Travels”, “Maui On My Mind”, “Kahealani”, “Slack Key Jazz”, “The Artistry of Jeff Peterson”, and “Pure Slack Key”. Wayne Harada from the Honolulu Advertiser reacted to hearing the CDs by writing: “Add the Peterson name to the top 10 list of slack key giants”, “His manner is impeccable, his style exquisite: the CD is perfection”, “Brilliant . . . Peterson raises the bar a few notches in both slack key and jazz with this bright and exceptional release”. He is also featured as a performer and arranger on the 2008 and 2009 Grammy Nominated recordings “Aumakua” and “Friends and Family of Hawaii” by Amy Hanaiali’i. Jonathan Korth Pianist Jonathan Korth enjoys a multifaceted career as a soloist, chamber musician, collaborator, and teacher, where he is faculty at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa’s Music Department. His sizable presence piques the audience’s attention and delivers with the satisfyingly deep and colorful sound he has become known for. He is a prolific concertizer, with international performances not only in Bangkok, Beijing, Brussels, London, Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo, but also throughout our islands and in prized stateside venues like Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall. Jonathan’s deep appreciation and love for chamber music has led to recent partnerships with musicians such as violinists Martin Beaver, Stefan Jackiw, and Robert McDuffie, and cellists Zuill Bailey and Sung-Won Yang. He also finds frequent chamber music partners with many musicians in the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra. An avid supporter of increasing access to classical music, he is the longtime president of the Honolulu Chamber Music Series and has attracted a diverse international teaching studio from the US and Asia. Grateful to have made his home in Honolulu, he enjoys hiking and great meals, two well-paired activities. Galliard String Quartet Fueled by passion—and sometimes coffee and tea—the Galliard Strings’ romance with the music of Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Shostakovich, and many others is unparalleled. Founded in 1982, the Galliard is renowned throughout the islands for its uncompromising commitment to performing classical and modern music of the highest caliber. All four current members of the Galliard Quartet are also members of the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra and are experienced teachers and music educators in the community. The Galliard’s 1995 album “Songs of Lili’uokalani” pays respectful homage to Hawaiian musical history through modern arrangements of the Queen’s compositions by Robert Cazimero, Angel Pena, Byron Yasui, and other local composers. Recent highlights include collaborations with acclaimed pianists Joyce Yang, Wu Han, and Billy Childs; Hawaiian vocal artist Raiatea Helm; local composers Michael Thomas Foumai, Takuma Itoh, Leilehua Lanzilotti, and Jon Magnussen; and silent film historian Rick Benjamin. Learn More Here