Dynamite Guitars Season to Begin with Ukulele

Taimane with her ukulele and the Pacific Ocean (courtesy of the Omni Foundation)

The 2023/2024 Dynamite Guitars series of concerts, presented by the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts, will begin almost exactly a month from today. Ironically, in the first of the eleven programs planned for this series, the guitar will be a “secondary” instrument. The featured artist will be ukulele virtuoso Taimane Gardner, who performs under the name Taimane and is known (at least by the Honolulu Star Advertiser) as the “empress of the ukulele.”

Taimane was born in Honolulu; but it is likely that, when she visits San Francisco, we (and she) shall still be reflecting on the tragic fate of Lahaina on the island of Maui. She has been playing ukulele since the age of five and was discovered by Don Ho at the age of thirteen. It was not long before she became popular on the Waikiki performance circuit. She released her first album, Loco Princess, in her mid-thirties; and she now has six albums to her name.

Most recently, she has prepared a stage show in which she is accompanied by violin, guitar, and percussion. However, for the program she has prepared for next month, she will perform with a cellist, Jacob Staron, rather than a violinist; and percussion will be handled by Stefie Dominguez on cajon. Her accompanying guitarist will be Tehila.

This performance will take place in Herbst Theatre, beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 14. Most readers probably know by now that the entrance to Herbst is located on the ground floor of the Veterans Building at 401 Van Ness Avenue, on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. Ticket prices will be $50 and $60, and they may be purchased online through a City Box Office Web page. They may also be purchased by calling 415-242-4500.

However, because this is the first concert of the season, subscription packages are still available. The price of the full series of eleven concerts provides a 20% discount over the purchase of eleven individual tickets. There is also the Create-Your-Own option. The subscriber can create his/her/their own package of four or more concerts and receive a 14% discount. The order form is a PDF file, available through an Omni Foundation Web page, which provides price information for the individual concerts, as well as the multiple-concert offerings. As of this writing, subscriptions are only available through the above telephone number.