FRIDAY

>> Student presents a ‘classical’ uke recital

Ukulele musicianship takes yet another step into the artistic world today with a recital by Mika Kane, a University of Hawaii-Manoa student who presents a first-ever “classical” ukulele recital on campus.

Kane received a special grant to study with Byron Yasui – a noted jazz and classical performer on bass, guitar and ukulele and retired UH composition professor – with a focus on bringing classical techniques and approaches to ukulele performance.

“The music department doesn’t have an ukulele program, so they’re making a special exception for me because I’m studying under Dr. Yasui,” said Kane, 22, a Maui native. “I want to make it so that other ukulele players have a voice and a chance atthe music department.”

While traditional ukulele playing features different strumming techniques, Kane said classical playing involves more interchange between melody and accompaniment – “playing the melody louder and the accompaniment softer, going into dynamicchanges, tonal changes, and bringing out the different colors of the ukulele, so maybe playing with your right hand over the sound hole versus playing over the fret board versus playing by the bridge,” he said.

Kane will debut some of Yasui’s ukulele arrangements and play Bach and the Beatles as well. He said playing in a classical style is far more difficult than traditional style.

“It’s technically so demanding,” he said. “When you play these pieces, these arrangements, these transcriptions, every note has a purpose. … You miss one note, the audience will hear that you’ve made a mistake. Not only that, but how are yougoing to phrase the notes, how are you actually going to sell the piece?”

FRIDAY-SATURDAY

>> One-act opera ‘Lifeboat’ depict refugees in conflict

“Lifeboat,” a one-act opera that pits people of differing backgrounds in a life-threatening situation, comes to The Arts at Marks Garage this weekend, courtesy of Hawaii Opera Theatre.

The opera by composer Matthew Peterson and librettist Emily Rollers, first staged in 2017, places a doctor, soldier and professor in a lifeboat after surviving a storm that sank their ship. All are refugees from “an unnamed conflict in an unnamedcountry,” said director Jordan Cho, pictured.

“They have different points of view about the conflict and of each other,” Cho said.

Being confined to such a small space in such a dangerous situation brings those differences into the open, as they try to learn how to “have compassion for one another,” she said, as they try to catch fish and collect water to survive.

The opera stars well-known local singer Blythe Kelsey as the Doctor, Jordan Weatherston Pitts as the Soldier and Samuel Chiba as the Professor. Pitts and Chiba are mainland singers who are studying with Hawaii Opera Theatre’s Young ArtistsProgram.

Calling Peterson’s music “accessible and beautiful,” Cho said the opera, accompanied solely by piano instrumentation by HOT music director Maikai Nash, is challenging and intricate for the singers.

The evening will also include a selection of popular arias and songs.

SATURDAY-JAN. 1

>> Honolulu City Lights returns with a parade and decorated trees

Shaka Santa and company return this week with Honolulu City Lights.

The annual celebration, which started in 1985, officially gets underway at 6 p.m. on Saturday with the Electric Light Parade, featuring municipal vehicles decorated with holiday cheer, and the tree-lighting ceremony at Honolulu Hale. The parade begins at Aala Park in Chinatown and follows King Street to Honolulu Hale. Get to the grounds early for a good seat and to partake in food offerings and keiki activities, which start at 4 p.m.

Free photos with Santa will start at 7:30 p.m. at Mission Memorial Auditorium, along with a holiday concert outside at Sky Gate featuring Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner Nathan Aweau, ukulele virtuoso Taimane, singer Aaron Night and theKamehameha Elementary Schools Chorus. The Honolulu Hale courtyard will be the site of a new display of trees, while Lane Gallery will feature a wreath display. Be sure to check out this year’s Christmas ornaments designed by Owen Ho.

Visit honolulucitylights.org for a schedule of the month’s events, including a screening of “Despicable Me” on Dec. 15. The display will be up until Jan. 1.

SATURDAY

>> Pop-punk band All Time Low returns to Oahu

Pop punk rock band All Time Low comes back to Hawaii on Saturday, bringing its trademark not-too-high, not-too-low, but always energetic mood to The Republik.

First formed in Maryland in 2003, the quartet has produced a series of albums that evoke an alienated-youth vibe, with titles like “Nothing Personal,” “Dirty Work” and “Don’t Panic.” All of those albums charted in the Billboard Top 10, building to apeak with 2015’s “Future Hearts,” which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

The group changed record labels after that, producing “Last Young Renegade” in 2017. Tunes like “Dirty Laundry,” which airs out the baggage of a relationship gone bad, reflect a hint of nostalgia. The video for the group’s latest single, lost-romance tune “Birthday,” continues that melancholy theme, with band members at a birthday party, complete with conical birthday hats – but tied to their chairs,

Co-founders Alex Gaskarth and Jack Barakat hold down guitars and vocals, with Rian Dawson on drums and Zack Merrick on bass.