Meet the composer behind Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra’s performance with Taimane

There is no typical day for Michael-Thomas Foumai. That is because Foumai is the Susan Kosasa composer in residence for the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra. 

On Tuesday, March 25, Taimane Gardner, a singer, songwriter and ʻukulele virtuoso based on O’ahu, joined Foumai at the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra’s office in Kaimukī to run through the timing of the music he wrote for the orchestra, which joins her on stage next month. Taimane and the orchestra will perform together on Saturday, April 5, at the Hawai’i Theatre.

In 2019, Taimane was named the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Favorite Entertainer of the Year. In 2023, she received the same award, again. In the next few months, Taimane has concerts in Italy, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany and the Netherlands.

For concerts like the upcoming one between Taimane and the orchestra, there is just one opportunity to rehearse together in person. That’s why Foumai meets artists ahead of that rehearsal to share a computer-generated version of the music he composed to accompany their guest performances.

Exactly what a composer looks like now is a bit different than how it used to be in the time of Johann Sebastian Bach or Ludwig van Beethoven.  

“The image of a composer back when Beethoven was around and a composer today is very different in that I'm not behind a piano anymore,” Foumai said. “I'm behind computers. …  I can compose anywhere in the world. I can compose in my car. I can compose in a coffee shop. I don't need to be at a home studio, bound to a piano anymore.”

Today, composers hold more than one role. Foumai is also the orchestra’s director of artistic engagement. He is constantly planning future seasons and making sure performances are ready to go. Foumai writes program notes, and even dabbles in video and audio editing, as well as social media marketing for events.

Foumai got started in his musical career when he joined the orchestra in middle school. His older sister, who played piano and clarinet, wanted him to join the band. 

“My sister, being in the band, wanted me to play a wind instrument,” he said. “And so did my pediatrician, because I had grown up with asthma. He said: ‘You should really, play the trombone — build up your lungs!’ ”

But, when Foumai got his schedule, he was assigned to orchestra. On the first day, his teacher demonstrated the violin, viola, cello and bass. It was the violin that captured his attention.

When asked to pick a favorite piece he has composed, Foumai said it is always “the most recent piece,” with a laugh. But “Raise Hawaiki” remains especially important, he added. That piece was composed over three years and celebrates the return of the Hōkūleʻa from its worldwide voyage.

“It's one of the largest works I've ever composed. It's about 65 minutes long — evening length,” he said. “Before ʻRaise Hawaiki,’ I was just a composer wanting to write stories about other places, other countries, other cultures, but ‘Raise Hawaiki’ gave me a true purpose of what music meant to me and what I could use music for and that was a tell the stories of my home, which weren’t being told on the concert stage. ‘Raise Hawaiki’ was a way to say Polynesian composers — Polynesian-inspired music — has a place in orchestras, and that's what I want to do with my music.”

The final production, which hit the stage in 2019, included a full orchestra and choir, as well vocal soloists, a children’s choir, hula dancers and projections inspired by the double-hulled voyaging canoe.

Some of the artists Foumai works with don’t read music, but instead play by ear, listening to music and then playing it back. 

“That doesn't quite work with an orchestra,” he said. “For my job, I need to translate that all into musical notation, which is a hard job to do, but I find it's really satisfying for me because I feel like I'm bringing their music to the symphonic stage, which is an incredible thing. When I think of symphony orchestra, I think of Hollywood movie soundtracks. For me, it's bringing that sound to their music, and I always find it very exciting. The artists — when they get to the stage — you can see it in their eyes: ʻWow!’ ”

Taimane’s concert with the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra starts at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 5, at the Hawai’i Theatre in Honolulu. Tickets range in price from $20 to $118.50. Details. 

Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.