Caption: The ASCC Chamber Singers recently returned from a trip to Honolulu, where they performed the oratorio "Elijah" by Mendelssohn along with 200 participants in the Hawaii International Choral Festival. (Photo: J.
Kneubuhl)

Under the direction of ASCC voice instructor Kuki Tuiasosopo, the Chamber Singers had worked hard before to prepare to sing the oratorio “Elijah” by Mendelssohn along with 200 other performers from numerous choral groups from across the nation attending the Festival. Their long hours of preparation paid off in a Hawaii visit rich in educational experience and cultural sharing.

The ASCC ensemble had the opportunity to perform for their fellow chamber groups on the first day of the Festival. Opening ceremonies took place on Sunday, April 15th at the historic Kawaiaha’o Church in downtown Honolulu. Ms. Nola Nāhulu, Artistic Director of the Festival, specifically requested that the ASCC visitors perform a Samoan hymn to go along with the other religious music sung in Hawaiian by the Kawaiaha’o Church Choir. As Tuiasosopo led the Chamber Singers through the hymn “O Lou Suafa Iesu e”, for many of those present this marked the first time they heard a song in the Samoan language.  Later that evening, the opening reception next door at the Mission Houses Museum featured entertainment by the Chamber Singers, who shared more of their culture by performing traditional songs and dances.  After seeing both that day’s performances by the young men and women from American Samoa, Nāhulu later wrote, “They performed beautifully and conveyed the essence and yet the difference of the sacred as well as the secular.”

During the following week, all of the vocal ensembles in the Festival spent their evenings together rehearsing the “Elijah”, first at the Kawaiaha’o Church, and then at the Blaisdell Concert Hall, where the singers joined forces with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and the distinguished conductor Sir David Wilcocks, Music Director Emeritus of King’s College Choir in England. During the day, Festival participants had the option of attending a number of vocal master classes, workshops, and discussion groups hosted by the University of Hawaii at Manoa Music Department. These sessions included a special performance by the soloists from the “Elijah”, which left a lasting impression on ASCC student Ulaese Collins, who recalled, “They each carried themselves with a sense of dignity and professionalism which really allowed me to see how I could change for the better.” After observing a master class by mezzo soprano soloist Margaret Lattimore, Ulaese concluded, “I really admired her style of teaching and how she carries herself so elegantly. I surely will use what she told the other vocalists and apply it to myself as a musician.”  

On another day off from rehearsals, the ASCC group accepted an invitation to socialize with the U.H. Manoa Ethnomusicology Department. Department chairperson Dr. Jane Moulin explained, “We hosted the ASCC students for an afternoon and evening with our Pacific music ensembles and UH ethnomusicology students. We set aside this time for welcoming them to our campus, presenting the groups to each other, having dinner together, and informal musical sharing that stretched into the evening. A number of UH students came up to me voluntarily over the following week to talk about how they enjoyed this experience. They found the Samoan students friendly and approachable, and able to convey a spirit of Samoa that opened eyes and warmed hearts.”  

The week culminated with the Festival’s vocal ensembles, along with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, giving two public performances of the “Elijah” on Friday, April 20th and Sunday, April 22nd. In its review of Friday’s performance, one Honolulu newspaper called the piece “a delight”. Speaking of the combined voices of the Festival participants, the reviewer said, “The chorus did a tremendous job, with clear diction, wonderful balance, outstanding dynamics, and no hesitations.” The review also listed the ASCC Chamber Singers as participants in the “tremendous” chorus. Recalling the performances in the Blaisdell Concert Hall, ASCC Ulaese Collins marveled, “The opportunity of singing in such an amazing concert hall really brought tears to my eyes, and a sense of fulfillment and joy.”

Since the Chamber Singers’ return from Hawaii, several of the Festival organizers, including Dr. Moulin and Ms. Nāhulu, have written letters of commendation expressing their appreciation of the cultural diversity and enthusiasm the ASCC students brought to the event. In a letter to ASCC President Dr. Adele Satele-Galea’i, Festival Executive Director Joseph McAlister described the visitors from the Territory as “one of the true highlights of the Festival.” McAlister said of their director Tuiasosopo, “His knowledge of choral music and his understanding of the personalities and capabilities of his students inspired the Chamber Singers to make outstanding musical and cultural contributions to the Festival.”

In addition to the Chamber Singers’ trip to Honolulu, the ASCC Fine Arts Department showcased their work for the public through a variety of noteworthy events during the Spring 2007 semester. Dance and Drama instructor Carmela Gallace staged a well-received production of “Guys & Dolls” last week. Along with the elaborate stage backgrounds they created for “Guys & Dolls,” Visual Arts instructor Regina Meredith and her students opened the ASCC Student Art Exhibition, currently on display through May 30th in the Feleti Barstow Public Library in Utulei. Earlier in the semester, Fine Arts chairman Namulauulu Dr. Paul Pouesi organized a two week Music Workshop conducted by special guest Professor Siuai Laufou, Director of Bands for the Kamehameha Schools in Hawaii.

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