Every NLL rehearsal is an opportunity for fun, but Halloween in particular is a time for good-spirited silliness, with unusual assemblages of vocal parts facing off in a Krazy Kwartet competition.
This year’s Kraziness featured a trio of spooky witches, an all-tenor ensemble hitting those scary high notes, and a quintet of bold basses. Not to be outdone, the leads and baris formed a motley flock of black sheep — so baaaad, they’re good!
Basses band together
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.
It’s been a whirlwind, literally! at our rehearsals lately as we’ve incorporated a mad frolic of colorful streamers into our moves, along with ukulele singalongs, and a walk down musical memory lane as we celebrated the 49th anniversary of the chorus.
Our 50th is coming up next year!!
Enjoy these pics from our late August and early September rehearsals, plus a snippet of a gorgeous rendering of Aloha ‘Oe by an ensemble of our members.
This past week we celebrated our August birthday gals, worked hard on the songs for our next performance, and even made time for a little ukulele strumming. It was great seeing folks back from their summer holidays, as well as a guest, Sam, whose theatre and voice background showed as she leapt into our lead section with aplomb. Welcome, Sam, and welcome back members who have been away!
Last week’s rehearsal theme featured flag-waving, Hawai’i-style, as we celebrated the state flag of Hawai’i, sang more tags, and had a ball reviewing repertoire songs. Folks who aren’t from the islands often wonder why the British Union Jack is on our flag. For more on the Hawai’i state flag history, see the explanation of our Lt. Governor, Sylvia Luke, here.
Many of our members are on vacation at the moment, so we had a small but feisty crew at this week’s rehearsal. We celebrated Christmas in July with several rounds of Mele Kalikimaka, refreshed our memory of other standards in our repertoire, and had fun singing tags in spontaneous quartets.
We also took some time to get to know each other better by going around the group and having each one of us share a bit of background about our parents. Some people brought photos and precious newspaper clippings. With members of wide-ranging ages, what an astonishing array of stories we encompass as a chorus! War, emigration, immigration, internment, refugee escape, starstruck romance, arranged marriage, self-made men, tenacious women — our parents’ stories and our own personal histories represent an extraordinary cross section of twentieth and twenty-first century history. Singing together is wonderful, but so too is learning more about each other’s origins and the experiences that made us who we are — all in the service, of course, of building harmony and making our chords ring!
Yesterday’s rehearsal was a cocktail of pineapple and coconut-themed hijinks as we celebrated National Piña Colada Day. (Apparently there really is a day for everything.)
It so happens our fruity festive fun (light on the rum) came just a couple of days after the annual Lānaʻi Pineapple Festival, which began in 1993. The state of Hawaiʻi has lots of pineapple-related celebrations, but few events are as sweet as our weekly rehearsals. If you like singing in juicy four-part harmony, then come check us out! We rehearse weekly on Wednesdays from 6 to 9 PM. You can find location info and others details about Na Leo Lani HERE. Or come to our upcoming ASP (Amazing Summer Program) concert on Saturday, July 20, 2024 at 2 p.m. to hear what we learned in just a few short weeks over the summer! We hope to see you there!
Everything came up roses at last week’s rehearsal as we celebrated National Red Rose Day on June 12. For chorus members who love our weekly themes, it was a perfect opportunity to dress in our favorite chintz prints. As it turns out, it was also National Rosé Day on June 8! Who knew??
Whether you’re a person who always stops and smells the roses, or a woman who loves sharing a glass of wine with friends, every occasion is more festive with song, and don’t we know it! Here’s to raising a glass and gifting a rose — and doing so in four part harmony!
Freshly back from our Sweet Adelines regional convention in Nevada, the women of Na Leo Lani celebrated our return to rehearsal on the first day of May — Lei Day in Hawai’i.
Joining us as a special guest was the multitalented musical director, educator, and accompanist Phil Hidalgo, who helped us learn the group song for the Ke Kani O Ke Kaiāulu Community Chorus Festival.
We also belatedly celebrated our April birthday gals. Happy birthday, Coralyn!
This week’s rehearsal theme was “World Aquatic Animal Day” and, true to form, we ladies sang with the allure of Sirens and the harmonic trills of Ariel the mermaid. Mostly, though, we celebrated fish, whales, and other species of the sea as we continued working on our contest set for Reno and our upcoming Friends and Family concert this weekend. ‘Hope to see you all there!
Na Leo Lani Chorus 