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Tribute showcases
musician’s range
Is there something you wish you had done for a deceased parent or other relative? Buz Tennent says he's been thinking about the title of an old movie, "I Never Sang for My Father," as he prepares to present a musical tribute to his father, the late Arthur Tennent, at Punahou School tonight.
"Arthur Tennent: A Musical Tribute"Where: Dillingham Hall, Punahou SchoolWhen: 7 p.m. today Admission: Free
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"What's interesting about it is that I have the privilege and honor of saying that I did sing for my father, and he sang for me, but the greatest honor is that we got to sing together and do baritone-tenor duets.
"We actually sang at Carnegie Hall together when I was living in New York," Tennent said, calling after a rehearsal with pianist Eric Schank earlier this week.
Arthur Tennent died at home on May 30, just a few days short of his 88th birthday. At his request there was no public ceremony, but Buz -- known to a select few as Leslie Tennent, Punahou Class of 1972 -- feels that now is the time for a low-key public commemoration.
"This is a public way for me to honor him and celebrate his life," Tennent said. "The theme is celebrating a life that was dedicated to 'the commonwealth of the arts' -- a concept brought forth by John Dominis Holt, who was a friend of my grandmother's.
"My father was very dedicated to the arts, whether it was writing, art, singing (or) teaching. ... I've gotten a lot of very kind e-mails saying that he was very much a Renaissance man."
TONIGHT'S PROGRAM, 19 songs ranging in style from 19th-century German lieder to Broadway hits, suggests the wide range of interests shared by father and son over the years.
"Most of them are songs that my father sang, (and) there are a couple that he taught me," Tennent said. "He was a real specialist in German lieder ... a wonderful marriage of poetry and piano. I'll be doing one aria but not going heavy on the opera, and in the second half I'll be doing a series of songs by Vaughan-Williams based on poems by Robert Louis Stevenson. There's also medley of songs from 'Carousel' that he taught me -- I did the role of Billy at Diamond Head Theatre many years ago."
The program will close with "The Impossible Dream."
"I've also done the role of Don Quixote, and 'The Impossible Dream' was very often (my father's) signature song at the end of a concert," Tennent said. "It really represents what he was about -- his romantic ideals, never giving up (and) persevering. He was somewhat quixotic in his nature, so (the song) very much exemplifies what he was about."
ARTHUR TENNENT was born in New Zealand in 1916, and came to Hawaii when the family -- parents Hugh and Madge Tennent and younger brother Val -- were en route to England. Hawaii became their home, and, eventually, the site of the Tennent Art Gallery.
Arthur graduated from Punahou in 1935 after distinguishing himself in baseball, swimming and track, then traveled to London to study voice at the Royal Academy of Music.
He returned to Hawaii after World War II, married, served as a Honolulu police officer, earned a master's degree in voice at the University of Michigan and enjoyed fruitful careers as a teacher, concert singer and recitalist, recording artist and the guardian of his mother's artistic legacy.
"I'm probably going to talk a little bit about him and maybe even read excerpts of a poem I wrote as a tribute to him -- just a son venerating his father.
"He was my first voice teacher, gave me the gift of his time, an insatiable curiosity and passion for the arts ... a voracious appetite for reading ... (and) he infused me with an enthusiasm for singing and the 'noble art of teaching.'
"I think he lived a little bit under the shadow of (my grandmother's) fame (as an artist), but his (last) book is going into its second printing and I think he's getting recognition that may be a little overdue."
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