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A musical mahalo

What a great time we had with our summer concert this afternoon! Our performance marked the culmination of our Amazing Summer Program 2024. In addition to our Hawai’i-themed repertoire, we also premiered our two ASP songs celebrating family, friends, and the indomitable feelings of joy that singing brings.

Mahalo nui loa to University Avenue Baptist Church for allowing us to perform in your beautiful sanctuary, and thanks as always to Mo’ili’ili Hongwanji for our weekly Wednesday evening rehearsal space. And thanks most of all to Yoko, Lark, and Stephanie for joining us this summer. We hope to see you again soon! 🥰🎶

Enjoy the pics and a snippet of each of our ASP songs below.

We are a chorus family
Don’t worry about the blazing heat; we’ve got sunshine in our pocket!
Mahalo to everyone for working so hard to make our concert come together!

Listen in on our performance!

What joy it was to raise our voices with so many others this past Sunday at the KE KANI O KE KAIĀULU (Sound of The Pleasant Breeze) community choral festival at Kawaiahaʻo Church! If you missed the concert or would like to hear it again, see the video and photos below.

Mahalo nui loa again to the festival organizers. We are honored to have been a part of this marvelous event!

Poised and ready to perform
The directors of Na Leo Lani and Sounds of Aloha
What an amazing array of voices!

Sweet Adeline Sisterhood

What a tremendous experience it was to return to the Region 12 Convention in Sparks, Nevada, after seven long years! Adjusting to the high elevation and chilly temperatures wasn’t easy, but we were bowled over by the beauty of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains, the cameraderie and supportiveness of our sister choruses, and the sheer joy of singing with so many Sweet Adelines in one place.

As you can tell from the photos (below), we gave it our all and had a blast singing with and watching the other contestants, as well.

Congratulations to all of this year’s contest performers, including the winning quartet, Equilibrium, from Emerald Valley Chorus in Springfield, Oregon!

Log on to the SAI Region 12 website HERE to watch all of the performances via video on demand from now through May 12.

Singing at the after-contest dinner
Ready to shine!
What a glamorous bunch!

PDQ quartet joined in celebrating Ruth’s 92nd year ‘round the sun.

Me ke aloha – rehearsing with love!

This week and last, we had the enormous pleasure of two special guest coaches, Kumu Hula Lauren Kanoelani Chang Williams of Hālau Nā Pua Hala, and Sweet Adelines Master Director Kathy Scheel of Oregon Spirit Chorus. Kumu Lauren offered vital guidance on pronunciation and interpretation and inspired us with her beautiful hula. Kathy Scheel filled us with energy and excitement and underscored the importance of exacting attention detail as we prepare for our upcoming contest performance in Reno. Thank you so much for your expertise and insights, Kumu Lauren and Kathy!

See below for a short video clip and photos of these special events.

This is aloha!

Director Chris and Kumu Lauren

Master Director Kathy Scheel and NLL Director Chris
What a spirited group!

Backwards and forwards

This week we hailed our January birthday celebrants, Chris and Nora, who wore the birthday sash with aplomb. In keeping with the theme of the week — “National Backwards Day” — they will now officially begin aging in reverse, like Benjamin Button. But we in Na Leo Lani already know that singing with a chorus is the secret to long life and a youthful spirit!

Congratulations, ladies, on another trip ‘round the sun, and may all your days be harmonious!

Happy birthday to you!
Backward and onward!

Having a holly jolly rehearsal

With Christmas just around the corner and our holiday concert coming up in three weeks, we are ramping up our rehearsals with a lot of holly jolly energy! Enjoy this video clip of an impromptu ensemble at this week’s practice.

Like what you see? Come join the fun with us in concert on December 9 at Harris Methodist Church. See our concert announcement for details.

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

Adding ‘ukulele to our mele

In preparation for an upcoming singalong, members of the chorus tuned up their ‘ukuleles on Wednesday and strummed the ever-popular folk favorite, “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” The song originated as an African-American spiritual, so it was a timely choice to honor this week’s Juneteenth holiday.

Enjoy a couple of brief clips and a pic from Wednesday’s rehearsal below.

Such great chords in this song!
Trying out new part placements.
This week’s theme: “MUSICAL NOTES” 🤩

Flag Day fun

At this past week’s rehearsal, we celebrated flag day, waving or wearing the flags of our foremothers and our various countries and regions of ancestry. After a solid stretch working on our two new Summer Program songs, we circled up and had some fun with an old favorite, “Hawaiian Lullaby.” See a snippet here.

NLL joined by some special guests!
Where I live, there are rainbows…

Shabooming along & PBJ!

Another fun night of rehearsal with ensemble -style sectionals and a debut of a new tune by Pure Nerves quartet. The theme was “Goth Night,” which made for a lot of folks in black and some heavy eyeliner. 😉

Enjoy the video snippets and pic below.

Group B working on blend.
Pure Nerves offered an ode to America’s favorite sandwich. 🙂
Doing our best to look like “Goths” — with a dash of Halloween spirit thrown in (photo courtesy of Suzanne).