For this week’s rehearsal we sported sunglasses, celebrated our June birthday gals, and worked hard on our Summer Program songs — just one more rehearsal to go before our performance on July 8!
Smiles so bright we gotta wear shades
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.
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.
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.
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.
Week 2 of Na Leo Lani’s Summer Program
We spent the second week of our six-week Summer Program working hard on our new songs, getting to know our participants, and celebrating “National Chocolate Ice Cream Day” on June 7. (Not to worry, all you vanilla, fudge ripple, and mint chocolate chip lovers out there — there is also a general-purpose World Ice Cream Day in July — the more ice cream days, the merrier!).
Interested in participating in our Amazing Summer Program, learning two great tunes, and participating in a Friends & Family performance in July? It’s not too late to join us. CLICK HERE to find out more.
Marking Memorial Day
At this week’s rehearsal, Na Leo Lani members wore a festive mix of red, white, and blue to honor and acknowledge those who served and those we’ve lost.
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.
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.
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.
Na Leo Lani Chorus 