A warm welcome to new Sweet Adeline, Rose, who was confirmed by the chorus as a new Na Leo Lani member this week. Rose brings her melodious voice, warm smile, and previous choral experience to our tenor section. We are thrilled to have her and look forward to many happy musical moments together!
Making it official with our director, Chris, and president, Deb.
We were thrilled to formally welcome new member, Summer, to the chorus at our August 16 rehearsal. Summer comes to us from Velvet Hills Chorus of Colorado Springs, where she was a lead. She has now ventured into the wild roller coaster of baritone — bravo, Summer, and a warm E komo mai to you from Na Leo Lani!
The ladies of Na Leo Lani had a grand time on August 12 watching our brother chorus, Sounds of Aloha, perform in their annual show at the Hawai’i Theatre. This year’s theme was “Broadway Through The Years,” with special guest stars Shari Lynn, local chanteuse, and After Hours quartet. See photos from the event below.
(This is a belated post from April that somehow got stuck in the drafts folder and was never published! Still, it’s never too late to celebrate these fine ladies’ birthdays …)
Hard to believe these ladies are another year older — could it be that singing a cappella makes one age in reverse, like Benjamin Button? Either way, we’ll never pass up a chance to sing Happy Birthday — in four-part harmony, of course!
Happy birthday, Anna and Vera! And happy birthday in absentia to Coralyn, who missed her chance to wear the April birthday gals’ sash (there’s always next year 😉).
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.
This week we celebrated our January birthday twins, Nora and Chris — Happy Birthday, ladies! — and we started building our repertoire with new and old tunes. What fun to learn new songs and revisit favorites!
Tonight’s rehearsal was extra special thanks to the presence of visitors Sandy and Ruthanne from Heart of Michigan Chorus, SAI Region 2. They took time out of their vacation to join us for a full night of song — and they enriched our bari and tenor sections in the process!
Also returning were old hands, SWUFTH participants, and repeat visitors Yoko, Lissi, Allison, and Pamela. Thank you for joining us, ladies! Can’t wait to see you next week.
Na Leo Lani proudly celebrates our Director, Christine Wee, for her selection for a 2022 Sweet Adelines International Small and Midsize Chorus Director Scholarship. The award helped underwrite her participation this past July in the International Education Symposium in San Antonio, Texas.
Clap along with us as you watch this short video produced by SAI, in which Chris expresses her appreciation for the award.
Director’s Scholarship Impact Story featuring Christine Wee
Putting the “non-aging” in “nonagenarian,” one of our longtime members, Ruth de Mesa, recently celebrated her 90th (!!) birthday, which fell on our regular weekly rehearsal night. A loyal alumna of Roosevelt High School, Ruth didn’t miss a beat when our Birthday Captain, Wally, asked her to sing the Rough Riders’ school song.
Enjoy this video of Ruthie belting out “Ever faithful, ever true; Roosevelt, to thee our song shall be– All Hail! Hail! Hail!” https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3157519444568006&ref=sharing
Recently featured in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s “Back in the Day” / Archive section was this photo from October 30, 1969 of the Air Fares of California, participating in the Sweet Adelines 23rd annual International Convention and Quartet Competition in Honolulu.
Do you recognize any of the women in this photo? If so, let us know!
The caption reads” The Air Fares from California are among 41 ladies’ barbershop quartets competing for the championship at the Sweet Adelines 23rd annual International Convention and Quartet Competition at the Honolulu International Center.”
Na Leo Lani Chorus 