Hilo Concert to Feature Music by Schubert, Ravel

The renowned Parker Quartet will perform two iconic string quartets in Hilo tonight.

Feb. 21, 2026 at 3:55am

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The Parker Quartet, a Grammy-Award-winning ensemble, will perform two renowned string quartets - Maurice Ravel's only string quartet and Franz Schubert's 'Death and the Maiden' - at the University of Hawaii at Hilo Performing Arts Center tonight at 7 p.m.

Why it matters

The Parker Quartet is a highly acclaimed group that has won several prestigious competitions, leading to international tours. Their performance of these iconic works by Ravel and Schubert is a rare opportunity for the Hilo community to experience world-class classical music.

The details

The Parker Quartet, consisting of violinists Daniel Chong and Ken Hamao, violist Jessica Bodner, and cellist Kee Hyun Kim, has been together since 2002. They will open the concert with John Adams' 'Fellow Traveler,' followed by Ravel's string quartet and Schubert's 'Death and the Maiden.' Schubert's work is subtitled as such because it borrows a theme from his 1817 song about death coming to claim a young girl's life.

  • The concert will take place tonight, February 18, 2026, at 7 p.m.

The players

Parker Quartet

A Grammy-Award-winning string quartet that has been in existence since 2002, consisting of violinists Daniel Chong and Ken Hamao, violist Jessica Bodner, and cellist Kee Hyun Kim.

Maurice Ravel

A French composer who wrote his only string quartet in 1903 when he was 28 years old, influenced by the music of Claude Debussy.

Franz Schubert

An Austrian composer who wrote his 'Death and the Maiden' string quartet near the end of his short and tragic life, borrowing a theme from his 1817 song about death coming to claim a young girl's life.

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What they’re saying

“We started playing together, because we knew each other from different summer musical festivals. We thought, maybe we should play together in a quartet. Everyone was agreeable, and we took it very seriously. But it's not something we started and said, 'let's make a professional career out of this.'”

— Daniel Chong, Violinist, Parker Quartet

“I must have had a magnetic pull to the idea of playing and creating sound, and that magnetic pull has never left.”

— Jessica Bodner, Violist, Parker Quartet

The takeaway

The Parker Quartet's performance of these iconic string quartets by Ravel and Schubert provides the Hilo community a rare opportunity to experience world-class classical music from a highly acclaimed ensemble.