51st Annual Ukulele Festival - International Spotlight
Presented by Hawaiian Host
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Performers - International Spotlight
JAPAN
Known in Asia for his virtuosic playing, Kyas won the best-technique prize in the 2007 Ukulele Contest in Japan. He performed at 40th Ukulele Festival Hawaii in 2010 and the Thailand Ukulele Festival in March 2011-2015. He was also featured at the Ukulele Festival of Great Britain in 2017.
His music has matured over the last few years. Whether its an original piece, Smooth Jazz, Rock, or Pop, Kyas covers all genres of music.Kyas is an artist who is always challenged by all the possibilities of ukulele music.
KOREA
They are registered as artists in Korea and work on their own music and play together. Blues and Vivian married in 2009 and they are supported by Kanile’a ukulele.
Blues Lee is the foremost ukulele player in Korea and was a finalist for International Album Special Recognition Award in 2019 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards. His arrangements have a rich, powerful sound, evoking various genres. His personal technique allows him to adapt any music to a his own ukulele style.
Vivian plays a variety of genres, but she stands out in classical music. She collaborates with cello, chamber ensembles and tries to perform a variety of collaborations. She's trying to make a variety of arrangements to show how much expression ukulele can have, rather than easy “toy” instrument..
SCOTLAND (UK)
Ethereal vocals, poignant melodies and stirring lyrics describes award winning Scotland based nu-folk musician, Zoë Bestel, hailed as one of the country’s most fascinating young singer-songwriters. As well as numerous BBC radio and TV performances, Bestel has captivated audiences across Denmark, Germany, Finland, Norway, and the Czech Republic, with festival highlights including Orkney Folk Festival, Cambridge Folk Festival, and Celtic Connections
CANADA
Diane Nalini is an award-winning jazz singer, songwriter and teacher from Canada. She sings and composes in English, French, Spanish and Portugues and has released five critically-acclaimed albums. Diane has performed at jazz festivals around the world and given gala performances for President Bill Clinton and Sir Paul McCartney. Her original songs have been used in films, TV and video games. She is also the resident vocalist with the Ottawa Jazz Orchestra. After misadventures on the nylon string guitar, Diane discovered her “Goldilocks” instrument: the ukulele! Since then, she has been studying with maestros Sarah Maisel and Craig Chee. In 2019 she launched UkuleleForJazzSingers.com, a free resource to help singers improve their ear and learn to play jazz charts on ukulele.
BRAZIL
Vinícius Vivas is a Brazilian ukulele player from Rio de Janeiro (the land of Bossa Nova). He has performed in Blue Note Rio, presenting a solo ukulele performance and also as part of a gypsy jazz ukulele trio, Manouke Gypsy Swing. He wrote the first Master's Dissertation about the ukulele in Brazil in one of the biggest Brazilian universities, UFRJ. Vinicius also plays gigs and workshopped in South Korea and the United States.
Vinícius is born and raised in Brazilian Music. He knows how to bring the Samba and Bossa Nova swing to the ukulele. He also plays Jazz, Rock, Pop Music and Choro (Brazilian Instrumental Musical Genre)
Vivas has traveled to Vancouver to study how to teach ukulele with James Hill, being part JHUI Teachers Program and Masterclasses.
His own Ukulele Online Course helps many Brazilian students to learn ukulele, from beginners to advanced levels.
BRAZIL
João Tostes is a Brazilian musician, writer and composer, virtuoso ukulele player and pioneer of the ukulele in Brazil. He has a national and international artistic career, besides being a music educator through the Toca Ukulele project.
He was the first Brazilian musician to participate in international ukulele festivals, the first to be shown on national television, he also released the first Brazilian instrumental ukulele album, "naturæ" (2018), and having been chosen one of the best instrumentalists in Brazil, alongside Hamilton de Holanda and Yamandú Costa, after the album's release.
João Tostes performs and lectures on the ukulele and Brazilian music, having performed in several countries such as Canada, South Korea, Italy and the Czech Republic.
MEXICO
Eduardo is a multi-instrumentalist originally from Mexico that arrived in Vancouver in April 2017. Being both classically and traditionally trained, he soon got active in a wide diversity of music projects in Mexico, teaching, performing and writing music. During 2017, he collaborated on the book ‘Tsenten Ajab’, a book of studies and arrangements of both traditional and modern music for the Jarana Huasteca, a traditional folk instrument from Mexico’s Huasteco region that was published in 2018.
He was the founder/director of the Academia de Ukuleles de la Ribera (Lakeside Ukulele Academy), a self-financed music school that provides instruments and free music lessons to all children in his community.
He has participated at in person and virtual Ukulele Festivals around the world, including Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Japan, and Brazil.
ITALY
Ukus in Fabula is the Italian ukulele band playing on the international music scene. It has toured Europe, playing concerts in Lithuania, Germany, Lativia, Czech Republic, Finland, Austria, Australia, Israel, and Scotland.
Thanks to their technical skills and abundant musical ideas, Ukus in Fabula play a range from reggae to rock, touching on singer-songwriter and top-of the charts hits. All three members, sing and play the bass, tenor, and soprano ukuleles. The explosive mix of sounds, colors and personalities makes Ukus in Fabula eclectic and unique.
ARGENTINA
Uke Tango is a duet from Buenos Aires, Argentina. If you didn´t know, Buenos Aires is the place where the Tango was born. We’ve played this music genre all throughout our careers in different ways. When the Ukulele came to our lives, we were surprised to learn that the sound of this instrument could match with tango beautifully. And then, we stored the guitars and now we travel lightweight.
Valeria Uher and Martín Cabello
We are two Argentine musicians and teachers, trained mainly in Buenos Aires. We’ve both lived and toured different European sites Italy, Holland and Germany. In 2007 we formed the Metejón Malevo quintet, with which we performed at many festivals in Argentina, being finalists of the traditional Hugo del Carril contest and recording our album "Según el cristal". Since 2012 we run Casa Freire, a cultural center that produces events for adults and children. Martin has written two books, "Un pequeño con grandes posibilidades” (A littleone with great possibilities) and “Mi primer Ukelele” (My first Ukelele), in 2017 and 2018, under the imprint of the musical publisher Ellisound