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Amazing Summer Program finale

What a blast we had on July 8 performing the two songs we learned for our summer program, as well as many other favorites from the Na Leo Lani repertoire. Making it even more special was a supportive turnout from sister choruses Honolulu Blend Show Chorus, Mission Valley Chorus (California), and Velvet Hills Chorus (Colorado).

After our performance, members of the audience and Na Leo Lani singers came up to participate in our first ever open mic event. It was a great afternoon of singing all around.

Many thanks to our summer program participants Summer, Marlene, Carolyn, and Donna — we hope you will continue singing with us! — and of course to all our chorus members and their families who made the event possible. Thanks most of all to Chris, our Director, for introducing these challenging but fun new songs. As she noted, they are still very much works in progress (hence our holding our sheet music in the video clip), but we covered a lot of ground in just six weeks and look forward to perfecting them further.

Enjoy the pics and video clips from the performance and open mic event below.

A snippet from our new Summer Program song, “For Good”
“How We Sang Today” joined by members Honolulu Blend Show Chorus, Mission Valley Chorus (California), and Velvet Hills Chorus (Colorado).

Summer Concert and Open Mic event!

Join us on Saturday, July 8 at 3:00 p.m. for a free concert featuring Na Leo Lani chorus and the singers in our Amazing Summer Program, and stay for our open mic event where YOU can show off your own amazing talents!

Where: Mo’ili’ili Hongwanji, 902 University Ave., Honolulu

When: Saturday, July 8, 2023. Doors open at 2:40 p.m. Concert at 3:00. Open mic 3:30 – 4:00 p.m.

Pre-register for the open microphone event at: https://tinyurl.com/NLLOpenMic or scan the QR code below. The mic is limited to ten acts, so sign up now!

Suggested donation for open mic participation: $10 (cash calabash at the microphone).

Open mic performer guidelines: A cappella or with accompaniment. Bring your own instrument(s) / equipment. There will be a Bluetooth speaker available if you wish to use it. One song per person/group. Other types of talent (slam poetry, magic tricks, tap dance, tell jokes, and more!) are welcome, but please keep lyrics and language family-friendly and in good taste.

We can’t wait to sing for you and see you strut your stuff!

Holo holo to the Windward Side!

We had a great time going holo holo this week to sing for the residents of Pohai Nani in Kaneohe. The theme of our show was the sights and sounds of the Windward side, explored through songs like ‘Ūlili E and Hawaiian Lullaby. Enjoy pics and a video clip from our performance below.

Aloha ‘Oe
Pure Nerves quartet

THANK YOU for our high tech video coaching event!

Na Leo Lani had a special treat this weekend courtesy of Sweet Adelines International: a free video coaching session with Master Director Lea Baker of Endeavor Harmony (Sydney, Australia).

Setting up a two-way call with sufficient audio and video across a 20-hour time difference was beyond our chorus’s skill set, even with post-pandemic fluency in platforms like Zoom and Google Meets. Enter Jeff LeFebvre of Sounds of Aloha chorus, who generously volunteered his video-connectivity know-how and supplied his equipment, to boot. Jeff stayed with us the whole afternoon to fix any glitches that arose. We could not have done it without him. Thank you!!! 🙏🏽 🙏🏽🙏🏽

A huge mahalo as well to NLL member Suzanne, who provided the perfect space for our coaching session with a huge screen, steady wifi, tiered seating, and even fresh-popped popcorn for a post-coaching snack!

Thanks most of all to our director, Chris, for tenaciously following through on this coaching opportunity, to SAI’s Education Department for underwriting it, and to Lea Baker for her amazing ear and helpful insights. Lea put us all through our paces, even the baris and tenors, who usually fly under the radar as long as we warble our “doo doo dooooos” at the right time. 😉 We learned a ton in two hours and had fun doing it.

Wizard of Oz, eat your heart out. This magic is the real thing!
With Lea Baker on the big screen and Jeff LeFebvre (he really is that tall!)

Raising our voices for Hawai‘i’s volunteers!

Na Leo Lani was pleased to perform for the June 2 ceremony at 15 Craigside honoring Hawaii’s top volunteers of 2023. Guests included Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke. Thank you to Adam LeFebvre for the lovely photos and video excerpt [click here to hear us!] from the event.

The indomitable JoAnne!
With Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke

Celebrating volunteership

We had a ball today performing at the City & County of Honolulu Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) annual volunteer recognition celebration at the Waikiki Community Center.

In addition to honoring O’ahu’s 2023 volunteers of the year, we also recognized one of our own, Rosie Ramiro, who volunteers for the Lanakila Senior Center and many other places.

Whether serving on chorus committees, helping with rehearsal logistics, carpooling, or just sharing snacks, all of our NLL members are vital volunteers in our own right. Harmony is by definition a collective venture!

See video and pics below.

A couple of favorites.

Na Leo Lani Summer Program 2023!

Summer days are here again! Keep cool with six weeks of singing with Na Leo Lani.

Do you love singing but aren’t sure whether you have the time to commit to joining a chorus? Or maybe you are already in a chorus and want to dip a toe into the cool waters of barbershop harmony? Well, come give our easy breezy six-week Summer Program a try! We will be learning two barbershop takes on contemporary tunes over six weekly rehearsals, May 31 – July 5, culminating in a performance (and open mic opportunity!) for friends and family on Saturday, July 8.

Come join us!

When? Weekly on Wednesday evenings 6-8 p.m., May 31 – July 5

Where? We rehearse in the Mo’ili’ili Hongwanji Social Hall Annex, 902 University Avenue, Honolulu

For driving and parking directions, see: https://naleolani.org/join-us/

How much? $25 (includes sheet music, learning tracks, and vocal instruction with the chorus). If you decide you would like to audition and join Na Leo Lani at the end of the program, your Summer Program fee will go toward your first month of NLL chorus dues.

How to sign up? Email naleolanichorus@gmail.com and let us know you are interested!

Hot diggity denim!

Ar tonight’s rehearsal we marked National Denim Day with a rhapsody in blue — blue jeans, that is. Following some high-spirited singing, we held our annual Board of Directors installation ceremony to welcome new and ongoing members onto the BOD.

Thank you, Music Team and installation volunteers, for making tonight fun!

And a very happy birthday to Karlyn, who did the birthday sash proud with her beaming smile.

Upping our game on coaching weekend

We had a wonderfully intense coaching weekend with Angela Suraci, Sweet Adelines International Master Director and longtime Director of the award-winning Mission Valley Chorus. In addition to an evening session on Friday night and a full day of coaching on Saturday, Angela guided our leads and basses through sectional instruction and had energy leftover on Sunday to coach the Pure Nerves quartet. Throughout it all, she maintained her signature good humor, keen ear, and amazingly perceptive insights. Angela put us all through our paces, and for that, we say thank you so much!

We were so focused all weekend, we hardly remembered to take photos!

Exhausted but energized by an amazing coaching session. That’s Angela in the center of the very back row.