POULENC: L' histoire de Babar, le petit éléphant - Guillaume Maman, Narrator & Mark Markham, Pianist

French with English subtitles
Text: Jean de Brunhoff
Music: Francis Poulenc
Orvis Hall, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, October 2022
Alliance Française Hawaii presented pianist Mark Markham in a recital inspired by Literature and Nature. October 2022 in Orvis Hall at the University of Hawaii.
Pianist Mark Markham is equally at home as a soloist, a collaborator with great singers, a chamber musician, a jazz pianist, or a vocal coach, and his interpretations have been praised by the public and press alike. His international career encompasses performances in North and South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, while the artistry of his playing has been described as “brilliant”, “exquisitely detailed” and “in full service to the music”.
Born in Pensacola FL, Markham made his debut in 1980 as soloist with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra playing Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini”. He studied with Ann Schein at the Peabody Conservatory where he received the Bachelor, Master and Doctorate of Musical Arts degrees. Before graduating he was invited to join the faculty where he taught for ten years.
In 1995 he began a twenty-year partnership with the soprano Jessye Norman. They gave over 250 performances in thirty countries in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Musikverein in Vienna, Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo, the Royal Festival Hall in London, Salle Pleyel in Paris, Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv, the Baalbek Festival in Lebanon, the ancient theatre of Epidaurus in Greece and the Nobel Peace Prize presentation to President Jimmy Carter in Oslo.
For over a decade Mr. Markham was based in the south of France. In 1999 he was enthroned into the Brotherhood of Chateauneuf-du-pape in recognition of his contributions to music.
His affinity for French culture, music, art, food, wine, and the language make him a great ambassador for both countries. Past programs in Hawaii have included - “Dances and Improvisations”, featuring music of Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Francis Poulenc, as well as J.S. Bach and improvisations from the American Songbook.
Today’s program features Poulenc’s "Barbar" which Mr. Markham has performed in the original French with actresses Marie-Christine Barrault and Françoise Fabian, in addition to performances in English, Japanese and Mandarin.
The Consulate General of France in San Francisco appointed Guillaume Maman as Honorary Consul in Hawaii on May 05, 2015. Consul Guillaume Maman has been a resident of Honolulu, Hawaii since 1987 and is originally from Paris, France. While in France, he served in the French Airborne Forces and received the Medal of National Defense. He earned a French Baccalauréat in mathematics, physics and chemistry, a License in Economics at the University of Montpellier and a Master’s degree in Finance at La Sorbonne University in Paris. He is currently the Regenerative Tourism Manager for the City and County of Honolulu, the Chairperson of the Matsunaga Charitable Foundation, a Regent for the Alliance Française of Hawaii and the co-founder of the Climate Crisis Commission at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Mr. Maman is married to Mrs. Theresa Maman and has 2 sons: Alexandre and Adrian. Both sons were born in Hawaii, attended high school in France and came back to graduate from the University of Hawaii.
As Honorary Consul of France in Hawaii, Mr. Maman perpetuates the mission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris to provide assistance in administrative matters and protection of French nationals settled or traveling within the state of Hawaii. He also represents the French Republic at official and cultural events and facilitates in deepening trade and diplomatic relations between France and the United States. In 2020 he received the Medal of Honor for Foreign Affairs.
This project is made possible in part with funding from the Fédération of Alliances Françaises in the United States. AFH is eternally grateful for the generous support of the University of Hawaii’s School of Music. We would like to extend a special thanks to the Department Chair, Laurence Paxton along with William Watson and their team including the piano tuner, Phil Glenn. We’d also like to thank our recording engineer, Duane Padilla for his work this afternoon. Finally, we would like to thank the many AFH Board members, Regents, active members who promoted today’s event, volunteered, or donated, and our friends in the community who contributed in many ways large and small in the lead up to today’s performance. www.afhawaii.org .