Partners in Time is a Honolulu band that plays ethnic music from the Balkans and the Near East -- primarily Bulgarian, Macedonian, Greek, Armenian, and Turkish -- and also some Middle Eastern music. Besides playing traditional ethnic music, the group also mixes some jazz styling and original jazz-ethnic fusion compositions into its music.
The band has played at numerous coffee shops or restaurants on Oahu (including Coffee Talk, Da Spot, Island Brew, Olive Tree, and Morning Brew), and has done gigs annually for many years at Hawaii Public Radio's Atherton Studio. The band has also played several times at the Hawaii State Art Museum as part of the monthly First Friday event in downtown Honolulu. Other venues have included the Greek Festival and the Doris Duke Theatre at the Honolulu Museum of Art, as well as private parties, ethnic festivals, weddings, etc.
The members of Partners in Time are Kip McAtee (guitar, Bulgarian tambura, and oud), Anita Trubitt (accordion), Ernie Provencher (bass), and Marcia Kemble (dumbek, or hand drum; frame drum; and tupan, or bass drum). In February/March each year, Partners in Time is joined for gigs by guest musician Souren Baronian of New York.
Kip McAtee played jazz and blues guitar professionally for many years. He was a member of the Sahara Hotel Orchestra in Las Vegas and also played with blues singer Rufus Thomas and R & B group Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose. Kip discovered and began playing Balkan music in the mid-1980s. He played with several Balkan bands on the mainland and has taught Bulgarian tambura at the Balkan Music & Dance Camp in Mendocino, California. Kip has played in various restaurants around Honolulu and offers solo guitar and DJ services for weddings. (See Kip's Website at http://guitarhawaii.weebly.com.)
Anita Trubitt, who was trained in classical piano and has a master's degree in music, had been an international folk dancer for many years when she took up the accordion in the early 1980s so that she could help form a fledgling band to provide live music for the local recreational folk dance group. They were called the Pleasant Peasant Band until 1998, when they adopted their present name, Partners in Time. The band's membership has evolved over the years, and Anita is the only member of the current band who has been with the group since its inception.
Ernie Provencher is a versatile and accomplished bassist. He has been active in many musical environments in New York City, Hong Kong, Europe, and Honolulu. His compositions for modern dance have been presented worldwide and he has played on numerous recordings and concert stages including the Berlin Jazz Festival, the Taipei Jazz Festival, The Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, and the Santa Cruz New Music Festival. He received his master's degree in music and double bass performance at U.H. Manoa and teaches band and orchestra in local private schools. His interest in Balkan music began when he moved to Honolulu in 1995 and met the members of Partners in Time.
Marcia Kemble began studying and playing Balkan music as an outgrowth of her interest in Balkan folk dance, which she has done recreationally since 1979. She was a member for many years of the Omega Dancers, a local Balkan and Eastern European folk dance performing group, and has been studying and playing Balkan percussion since the early 1980s.
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Once a year, usually in February and March, the band is joined by master musician Souren Baronian of New York on his yearly visits to Hawaii. Baronian is an Armenian-American who has roots in both jazz and Middle/Near Eastern music. He is a master player of G-clarinet, soprano saxophone, kaval (flute), dudook (double-reed instrument), dumbek, and tambourine. Souren's playing and his writing are a true synthesis of jazz and authentic Near Eastern music, born of his extensive experience in both areas. He has played at many venues throughout the United States and in Europe. Much of the original material played by Partners in Time is composed by Baronian.
Contact information: Marcia Kemble, 808-941-6453 or Anita Trubitt, 808-261-2524.
If you would like to receive email notices about the band's gigs, please send an email using the form below requesting that you be added to the email list.
The band has played at numerous coffee shops or restaurants on Oahu (including Coffee Talk, Da Spot, Island Brew, Olive Tree, and Morning Brew), and has done gigs annually for many years at Hawaii Public Radio's Atherton Studio. The band has also played several times at the Hawaii State Art Museum as part of the monthly First Friday event in downtown Honolulu. Other venues have included the Greek Festival and the Doris Duke Theatre at the Honolulu Museum of Art, as well as private parties, ethnic festivals, weddings, etc.
The members of Partners in Time are Kip McAtee (guitar, Bulgarian tambura, and oud), Anita Trubitt (accordion), Ernie Provencher (bass), and Marcia Kemble (dumbek, or hand drum; frame drum; and tupan, or bass drum). In February/March each year, Partners in Time is joined for gigs by guest musician Souren Baronian of New York.
Kip McAtee played jazz and blues guitar professionally for many years. He was a member of the Sahara Hotel Orchestra in Las Vegas and also played with blues singer Rufus Thomas and R & B group Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose. Kip discovered and began playing Balkan music in the mid-1980s. He played with several Balkan bands on the mainland and has taught Bulgarian tambura at the Balkan Music & Dance Camp in Mendocino, California. Kip has played in various restaurants around Honolulu and offers solo guitar and DJ services for weddings. (See Kip's Website at http://guitarhawaii.weebly.com.)
Anita Trubitt, who was trained in classical piano and has a master's degree in music, had been an international folk dancer for many years when she took up the accordion in the early 1980s so that she could help form a fledgling band to provide live music for the local recreational folk dance group. They were called the Pleasant Peasant Band until 1998, when they adopted their present name, Partners in Time. The band's membership has evolved over the years, and Anita is the only member of the current band who has been with the group since its inception.
Ernie Provencher is a versatile and accomplished bassist. He has been active in many musical environments in New York City, Hong Kong, Europe, and Honolulu. His compositions for modern dance have been presented worldwide and he has played on numerous recordings and concert stages including the Berlin Jazz Festival, the Taipei Jazz Festival, The Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, and the Santa Cruz New Music Festival. He received his master's degree in music and double bass performance at U.H. Manoa and teaches band and orchestra in local private schools. His interest in Balkan music began when he moved to Honolulu in 1995 and met the members of Partners in Time.
Marcia Kemble began studying and playing Balkan music as an outgrowth of her interest in Balkan folk dance, which she has done recreationally since 1979. She was a member for many years of the Omega Dancers, a local Balkan and Eastern European folk dance performing group, and has been studying and playing Balkan percussion since the early 1980s.
*********************************************************************************************************************************
Once a year, usually in February and March, the band is joined by master musician Souren Baronian of New York on his yearly visits to Hawaii. Baronian is an Armenian-American who has roots in both jazz and Middle/Near Eastern music. He is a master player of G-clarinet, soprano saxophone, kaval (flute), dudook (double-reed instrument), dumbek, and tambourine. Souren's playing and his writing are a true synthesis of jazz and authentic Near Eastern music, born of his extensive experience in both areas. He has played at many venues throughout the United States and in Europe. Much of the original material played by Partners in Time is composed by Baronian.
Contact information: Marcia Kemble, 808-941-6453 or Anita Trubitt, 808-261-2524.
If you would like to receive email notices about the band's gigs, please send an email using the form below requesting that you be added to the email list.