The ladies of Na Leo Lani never let a holiday go by without marking it in a special way, and this year’s Veterans’ Day was no different! Rocking our best stars and stripes attire, we sang in remembrance of those who have fought and died defending the values of equality, humanity, and justice under law, and we sang in celebration of the millions of hardworking individuals from all corners of the planet who serve the U.S. with honor, both in military uniform and as essential workers who make our economy hum. As women of all races, ethnicities, and faiths, we know well that harmony begins with listening — and we honor that outlook every week with song.
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!
After all the intensity and excitement of our Region 12 competition last month, what fun it was to decompress and enjoy each other’s company over a great meal. In addition to watching the webcast of the Region 12 performances, our spring celebration marked the installation of our 2024-25 Board of Directors and honored our Music Team and Director. Thank you so much, each and every one of you, for all you do in keeping Na Leo Lani running!
And thanks to Rosie for the fabulously fun and lighthearted headwear. Busy mice sound twice as nice when we squeak in harmony!
Many thanks to our stalwart BOD, Nora, Pam, Anna and Deb!Mahalo nui loa to the Music Team! L to R: Chris, Anna, Carole, Rosie and JoAnne (missing Arlette, Summer and Eimi)Tenor live life on a high note!Baris make beauty sound easyBasses keep it on the down lowOur leading lights!
What a busy mind- and lung-expanding weekend we had, thanks to our excellent coaching workshop with Kathy Scheel. Thank you so much to all our Na Leo Lani members for pitching in (and pitching up!) to make this a great event, and a special mahalo nui loa to Suzanne for hosting the weekend sessions in such elegant surroundings!
Basses rule!
Leads show off their perfect posture
Tenors are the tops!Our barilicious barisKathy and Chris
We had a great time this week performing at the Lanakila Senior Center. Like the expression “Imua a loaʻa ka lei o ka lanakila” (Go forth and win the lei of victory), singing for the public always feels like a win.
Mahalo nui loa to the Lanakila Senior Center for being a great audience and inviting us to lunch afterward.
If you like singing and performing, come check us out — visit our “Join Us” page for information on our weekly rehearsals or contact naleolanichorus[at]gmail.com
On Armistice Day, November 11 (Veterans Day in the U.S.), Na Leo Lani performed for residents of the Plaza Hawai’i at Punchbowl and celebrated at our evening rehearsal with songs and colors honoring those who have served. Click here for a FB reel of our Plaza pics, and see below for our rehearsal photo.
Many thanks to Suzanne for the group photo!
In Flanders field, the poppies blow . . . [photo Tijl Vercaemer]
On October 21, Na Leo Lani joined with members of Honolulu Blend Show Chorus and men from Sounds of Aloha to celebrate World Singing Day.
Following a picnic and talk story time, we circled up and sang. The gorgeous surroundings of Kapiolani Park and Diamond Head were especially inspiring as we harmonized tunes we knew in common and new songs we learned on the spot.
Special thanks to HBSC director, Stephanie Brictson, for organizing this event, as well as to NLL members who attended: Jojo, Anna, Yvonne, Charley, Deb, Summer, Rosie and Chris, and dual NLL and HSBC members Yvonne and Charley.
We love harmonizing with all of you!
Beautiful music in a beautiful settingDirectors Chris and StephanieBarbershop harmony in harmony with nature!
We had a special treat at this week’s rehearsal — a coaching session with Region 12 visual coach Pamela Johnson! In addition to waving colorful ribbons in time with the beat for warmups, we sported paréos and inflatables in rainbow colors in keeping with this week’s “beaches” theme.
Thank you for the fun and inspiring session, Pamela!
Celebrating the sun & surf with our “beaches” rehearsal.
Six weeks have flown by! Hard to believe, but tonight was already the last night of our Amazing Summer Program. We worked hard and enjoyed the excitement and camaraderie that come from preparing for a show.
Join us this coming Saturday, July 8 from 3 to 3:30 p.m. to hear our Summer Program songs, plus a mix of favorites from our repertoire.
Stay afterwards for the open mic event and show off your own vocal & performing chops!
For more information about our free Saturday concert and the open mic event, click HERE, or just scroll to the next post below.
Wearing our best Fourth of July smiles — Happy Fifth!
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.
Wizard of Oz, eat your heart out. This magic is the real thing!With Lea Baker on the big screen and Jeff LeFebvre (he really is that tall!)
Na Leo Lani Chorus 