Tibetan flutist Nawang Khechog and slack key guitarist Jeff Petersen will perform at Iao Theater to fundraise and send ukulele to children in Bhutan
Grammy-nominated Tibetan flutist Nawang Khechog and slack key guitarist Jeff Peterson will perform at a World Peace Event on Sunday at the Historic Iao Theater. A fundraiser to send ukuleles to children in Bhutan, the concert is presented along with a series of 3D films screening on Saturday and Sunday.
“It’s for Keola Beamer’s non-profit Mohala Hou Foundation to raise money to go to Bhutan in November,” Maui psychologist/ filmmaker Tom Vendetti explained. “The last fundraiser we did, all the money went to West Maui.”
Praised as a global ambassador of Tibetan music, Khechog’s serene flute playing has mesmerized audiences since the late 1980s. “The heart and soul of my music lie in the Tibetan spiritual tradition, which has served to inspire humanity to become compassionate, peaceful and wise,” he said. “As a former Tibetan Buddhist monk, my aspiration is to create contemporary Tibetan meditation and spiritual music.”
Nominated for a New Age Grammy for his album “In a Distant Place,” over the years he has collaborated with a range of leading artists from classical composer Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson and Phish’s Trey Anastasio, to Maui’s Grammy-winning pianist Peter Kater. “It’s relaxing, spiritual music, very peaceful and calming,” he said. “People tell me when they hear my flute music, it makes them feel like they’ve been taken into the high mountains of Tibet.”
Multi- Nā Hōkū Award winning guitarist Peterson is looking forward to collaborating with the Tibetan musician. “I’m really excited,” he said. “I’ve been listening to his music, and it’s gorgeous. Tibetan music is just so soulful and very rich. I’ve studied some of the music from when we went to Sikkim with Keola Beamer and Moanalani Beamer, and Tom Vendetti.”
The two musicians will perform separately and then collaborate for some unique improvisations. “I will study his music and come up with parts and everything, but then we’ll just kind of see what happens,” said Peterson. “It’s going to be very free and I can see it going for a while.”
In previous years, Keola Beamer and Moanalani Beamer, Peterson and Vendetti traveled from Maui to Cambodia and Sikkim presenting ukuleles to school children and providing initial instruction.
In Sikkim they drove to “the most remote part of one of the most remote countries,” Peterson recalled. “It took us four days of driving through the mountains. They call them hills, but they’re 7,000 foot elevation peaks. Off in the distance and you can see the Himalayas. We finally get to the school and I was worried about how I could connect with the students and what they would want to learn.”
The Maui musicians were delighted when the students presented a “whole review performance,” and were soon singing Hawaiian songs. “They introduced themselves, playing traditional music in some of the regional languages and dances, but then they started doing some Beatles and they did a whole ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ routine. After learning just a few chords, before we knew it, we were playing all these pop tunes, and in no time, they were singing Hawaiian songs. It’s amazing to see the enthusiasm of the kids and how much it means to them. It brings communities together. Because the kids start playing music and are excited about it, others want to learn, and it brings people together.”
The World Peace Event opens on Saturday at 1 p.m. with the free screening of Vendetti’s film “Himalayan Prayer for World Peace 3D.” A panel discussion, “Microscopes Telescopes and Consciousness,” with Dr. Gary Greenberg, Khechog and Vendetti, hosted by Cindy Paulos will be presented at 3.
At 5, the surf film “The Ultimate Wave Tahiti 3D,” follows world champion Kelly Slater’s hunt for the ultimate wave-riding experience at the Pacific surf site of Teahupoo, Tahiti. And at 7, “Storm Surfers 3D” features two Australian surfers chasing giant storm waves employing cutting-edge 3D filmmaking technology.
“These surfing movies are really good,” said Vendetti. “‘The Ultimate Wave Tahiti’ was an IMAX film and there was spectacular technology filming ‘Storm Surfers.’ We’ll be handing out 3D glasses for them.” Following the concert with Khechog and Peterson on Sunday at 3 p.m., “Tibetan Illusion Destroy 3D” will be screened.
The World Peace Event is presented on Saturday and Sunday at the Historic Iao Theater. Tickets for the concert are $28, $32 and $42. Individual tickets for films and the panel discussion are $13 general admission, and $6 for children under 12, available from www.mauionstage. com/world-peace-event.