An Evening of Italian Music with Maestro Ben Makino

A private dinner concert with Mr. Makino, who came to Hawaii as a music coach for the Hawaii Opera Theater “La Traviata”  Dinner included

*Proceed of concert will be donated to the Shriners Hospital for children

Benjamin Makino Pianist, Conductor
From complex contemporary and twentieth-century scores to core traditional repertoire, conductor Benjamin Makino has been recognized for his nuanced and thoughtful interpretations of broad and varied repertoire. Throughout his career, his work has been affiliated with some of the companies most recognized for innovation. Following the success of the first 30 Days of Opera festival, Makino was named Music Director of Opera Memphis, a position he held for four seasons. During his tenure the company rose to national and international prominence, praised for its innovative community engagement programs, experimentation, and groundbreaking commissioning projects. An active pianist, he has performed with members of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra under the auspices of the Memphis Chamber Music Society, collaborated in recitals for Opera Memphis and Rhodes College, and worked as a staff pianist at the Viola Workout in Crested Butte, Colorado. Makino holds a bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from Chapman University, where he was the recipient of a Presidential Scholarship and a master’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. Following his university studies, he was a scholarship student in the orchestral conducting program at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana, and a recipient of a scholarship from the Italian Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C. for language studies in Naples. He was hand selected by General and Artistic Director Plácido Domingo to participate in the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program at the Washington National Opera and was the only United States citizen selected to participate in the 50th Besançon International Competition for Young Conductors. In 2014 he was identified by Opera America as a future leader in the field of Opera in the United States. In 2015, in recognition of his contributions to the City of Memphis, he was named one of the Memphis Business Bureau’s 40 Under 40.