TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW $15 General Admission in Advance $20 General Admission Day of Show *All Sales Final. Tickets are non-refundable or transferable. Seating is open for this performance, seats are selected upon arriving at the theater.
Orchid Isle Orchestra is a community string-percussion orchestra (with occasional visits from wind and brass players). In its 19th year, OIO currently plays under the baton of Resident Conductor David MacKenzie. The orchestra performs concerts for the public biannually and for special occasions. OIO is proud to bring together four members of the OIO ‘Ohana to present this December’s string quartet concert.
Orchid Isle Orchestra is a project of the Unitarian Universalists of Puna, who affirm the inherent worth and dignity of each person, justice/equity/compassion in human relations, and the democratic process.
The string quartet is made up of Cathy Mulligan Young on violin, Mark Caudill on violin, Katherine Button on viola, and Megumi Alexander on cello.
Cathy Mulligan Young founded Orchid Isle Orchestra in 2006. She wanted her two violin-playing children and her various string students to enjoy orchestra: the experience of playing and working together, playing great music. Cathy uses Suzuki’s “mother tongue” method to teach violin, viola, cello and piano at her private studio in Kea’au. She grew up in a musical family, and still plays in a sibling string quartet. A graduate of Vassar College, where she studied music and developmental psychology, Cathy credits her Peace Corps strings-teaching stint in Belize, Central America, and her many Suzuki-teacher trainers with inspiring her career. Cathy is grateful to the talented staff at East Hawaii Cancer Center and Cherry Healing Centerfor helping her journey toward remission.
Mark Caudill played his grandmother’s violin in a youth orchestra in Boston. He quit playing while studying Earth & Planetary Sciences at Harvard, and then started playing fiddle again in Charlotte in the 1990s. After touring for six seasons with the band Cantiga, Mark relocated to Hawai’i, where he teaches and tutors math & science, and plays violin with the Orchid Isle Orchestra.
Violinist and violist Katherine Button grew up in San Francisco and spent a long career playing in the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, and other groups in the Bay Area. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University, and also studied at the Royal College of Music in London, England, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Since moving to the Big Island in 2022, she has diverted her efforts from the practice room to studying Hawaiian on duolingo, paddling on Hilo Bay with UH Hilo, and learning about the abundance of tropical plants and fruit that is growing in her new backyard. She and her husband, Russ, also enjoy hosting visiting family and friends, who are all envious of their idyllic island life.
Megumi Alexander is a cellist from Japan, currently based in the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. She holds a degree from the University of Shizuoka and a Master’s degree in cello performance from the University of Nebraska in Omaha. Following her studies, she relocated to Okinawa, where she taught cello and piano to students of all ages and performed as a freelance musician for various orchestras. Ms. Alexander now enjoys performing with diverse groups, exploring and blending a variety of musical styles.
