Tag Archive | guests

Special guests are the best!

We had three special guests join us at our rehearsals in April: former Na Leo Lani director Lars Isaacson, who will be bidding adieu to the islands and moving to the continent later this spring, Barbie Dodson, a sister Sweet Adeline and former Honolulu Blend Show Chorus member who often visits Hawaiʻi, and Mark Conching, whose guest-coaching, as always, made our chords really ring.

Both Lars and Mark are longtime Sounds of Aloha members (Mark is the former director). What a wonderful treat it was to have them, and Barbie, too, who came just in time for our special rehearsal evening in honor of National Barbershop Quartet Day on April 11. Thanks for joining us!

Enjoy the photos of their visits below, plus a video of Lars directing us in one of his favorites, “Where Does the Time Go?” (😭)

Na Leo Lani joined by Lars and Barbie
Lars directing us for old times sake
Where indeed?
Thanks, Mark, for inspiring us as always!
Nicole, Yvonne, Barbie, Lars, Jojo and Kaori ensembling on the fly in honor of National Barbershop Quartet Day
The recently reconstituted Loco Moco looking good and sounding great!

Ssso much fun

Our Year of the Snake-themed Guest Night last week was so much fun, we were still basking in good feelings the next day. From sssnake vocal warmups to a high-spirited Chinese Zodiac game, we sang, hissed, squeaked, and belly-laughed the whole evening.

The Leads took the lead in the Chinese Zodiac game
Animated warmups . . .
. . . in snake-y style

We were joined by five great guests whose vocal prowess and enthusiasm put us all in high spirits.

Our wonderful guests. Thanks so much for joining us, ladies! We hope to sing with you again soon.
Sporting New Year’s finery . . .
. . . and fully embracing their Zodiac animal (rats!)
A marvelous time was had by all.

New voices, new friends

What a whirlwind few weeks it’s been — more than a month has passed already of our Sing With Us for the Holidays (SWUFTH 😉) program! It’s been a joy getting to know our SWUFTH participants and blending with them in marvelous holiday harmony.

Enjoy some snapshots of Weeks 1-4 below, plus a snippet of an impromptu ensemble warming up the chorus with an old favorite.

In purrfect harmony

This week’s rehearsal featured meowsical fun as we celebrated “Respect Your Cat Day” on March 28 — one of many cat-themed annual holidays of which most of us were heretofore unaware. (Did you know there’s also a national “Drink Wine With Your Cat Week” every February?)

“Respect Your Cat Day” is apparently based on an edict by King Richard II of England on March 28, 1384, in which he forbade his subjects from eating cats. No need to convince us to refrain from eating our feline friends! We dressed up as cats instead.

The evening was made extra special by a visit from a former NLL member who now sings with our sister Region 12 chorus High Desert Harmony. It was great singing with you again, Olivia!

Putting the “leo” in Na Leo Lani! Roaarrrrw!

An energetic evening of music and games

We were thrilled to welcome seven guests, including new faces and old friends, at this week’s Membership Night. From the ribbon twirling warmups to a spirited round of tags, it was a nonstop evening of singing, laughter, and fun.

In an interlude between working on our contest songs and a hilarious round-robin game of Betty Boop (and Popeye and Wolf!) (see pic below), members shared how they came to Na Leo Lani and what they love about it.

Rosie spoke of how singing with the chorus had been a source of solace and uplift after her mother’s passing and a long stint volunteering at Hospice Hawaii. Summer, April, and others said they loved the sense of community they have found at NLL. JoAnne — hands down our most radiant and glamorous member — described how singing with Na Leo Lani has kept her young. She is now 88, and her daughter tells her she should never quit! And proving that we are never too old to expand our skill set and build our résumés, Ruth, now in her nineties, imparted how being a part of Na Leo Lani for so many years had put her in line for a leadership position at her assisted living facility, where she now heads the hymn-singing group.

Young or old, singing in harmony is our secret to feeling connected and finding joy!

Thanks so much, ladies, for making our January membership night a success. Let’s continue to grow!

Kinetic warmups with ribbon dancing
Our Membership Night guests!
Playing “Betty Boop” takes stamina and attention! 😅

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.

Cultivating harmony

This week is National Farmers Day, so we dedicated our rehearsal to farmers, whose hard work enables us to eat, live, and, of course, sing!

It was also the first week of our Sing With Us for the Holidays (SWUFTH!) program. Three wonderful singers joined us for the fun. See HERE for details if you love singing and want to find out more about our holiday chorus program.

Straw hats, sun hats, trowels, and . . . a mini pitchfork? Watch out, Earth, Na Leo Lani means business when it comes to growing fun.
Welcome to our SWUFTH participants — we love singing with you!
Pick-up quarteting ‘Ulili E, a holiday favorite that salutes the ‘Ulili — one of Hawai’i’s many winter migratory shorebirds. (Video cropped to keep our lovely tenor’s face a mystery. 🙂 )

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…