Bay Area Hawaiian Musician Parick Landeza to Play Carnegie Hall Jan. 8
- January 5, 2012
OF SPECIAL NOTE: Patrick Landeza is a 1997 alumnus of Cal State East Bay with a BA degree in sociology with an option in social services. He is a professional musician.
The snowy streets of New York City are about to be bathed by the tropical sun and balmy breezes of Hawai`i – in spirit, anyway. Through the non-profit foundation “Listen for Life,” the Bay Area’s own will make Carnegie Hall ring on Jan. 8 with the melodic sounds of Hawaiian music.
Landeza will be performing as one of the artists in Listen for Life’s “The Power of Eight” concert at Carnegie Hall. Listen for Life’s mission is to restore music as a unifying force throughout the world and, in keeping with that mission, the Carnegie Hall concert will feature eight artists from eight of the world’s musical traditions.
Hawaiian music will be well-represented by Landeza and his fellow artists Kale Hannahs on bass and Bryan Tolentino on ukulele. As any musician would be, Landeza is greatly honored to play at Carnegie Hall, and the event is even more significant to him because it is an effort to promote peace through music. “Music is an important key to understanding other people’s cultures,” he says. “We express our deepest emotions in our music, and those emotions are the same everywhere in the world. It’s hard not to feel a camaraderie with folks from other parts of the world when their music touches your heart.”
By performing at Carnegie Hall, Landeza will be following in the footsteps of some of the greatest artists of Hawaiian music, including Keali`i Reichel, Ledward Kaapana, and Cyril Pahinui.
The timing of the concert also coincides with the release of Landeza’s new CD, “Kama`alua,” which will be available in late December. With a new CD, prereleases of which are already receiving accolades in the Hawaiian music industry, and a performance at Carnegie Hall, Landeza is starting the new year with a bang. “This was a great year, but I expect even greater things to happen in 2012. I want to make a dent in people’s consciousness about Hawaiian culture and the important roles that Hawaiians have played in history. Hawaiians helped to build California even before it was part of the United States, and not many people know that. It’s time for our culture to take ownership of its contributions.” And by performing at Carnegie Hall, Patrick Landeza will indeed represent his culture well, and proudly.