Four choirs and an orchestra will share musical joy when the Holiday Card to Hilo concert takes the University of Hawaii at Hilo Performing Arts Center stage at 2 p.m. Sunday.
“We’re giving Hilo a sound card of music and really pulling out all the stops with that idea,” said Amy Horst, who conducts two of the groups, UH-Hilo’s Kapili Choir and University Chorus. Accompanying them will be Walter Greenwood on piano.
Also sharing their talents are the Hilo Community Chorus, under the direction of Tom McAlexander, the 16-piece Orchid Isle Orchestra, directed by Cathy Young, and the Mountain View Elementary School Chorus, directed by Jenifer Tsuji.
“Just a couple of years ago, the principal at Mountain View decided, ‘Hey, we’ve got a trained music teacher. Let’s let her teach music,’” Horst said. “… So she started a children’s choir and she’s got 40 singers in it. The children’s choir will be included in the large group numbers and we’re really lucky to have them on board.”
The concert will feature time-tested holiday favorites, including an a cappella version of “Carol of the Bells.”
“We’re taking old favorite Christmas carols and taking them to a whole new level, songs everybody knows, like ‘Jingle Bells,’ and doing them in six-part harmony,” Horst said. “The feeling we’re going for is the sound equivalent of a nice cup of hot cocoa with a peppermint stick swizzled in it while you’re sitting in front of a fire on a cold day in Volcano.”
The University Chorus will be featured on a piece called “Rhapsody of Christmas,” described by Horst as “a medley of three carols that Walter Greenwood has made an orchestral arrangement for.”
Horst said Greenwood is a major player in the show, accompanying all but one number, which he’s conducting. He, Young, and UH-Hilo student and Kapili Choir member Ryder Furukado did the orchestral arrangements.
“He’s a protégé of Herb Mahelona at Kamehameha Schools, so he’s done some orchestral arrangements before. And Herb guided him through this process, as well,” Horst said.
Another choir member making an unusual contribution is Michael Voight, who’ll play clarinet on two numbers.
There’ll also be a couple of audience sing-along selections. One, said Horst, is a new piece called “Christmas Candles” by English choral composer Gordon Thornett. She said she ran across the piece by “random Googling,” started an email conversation with Thornett, and he provided an orchestral arrangement for this concert.
“I was looking for something we could do with the children’s choir,” Horst said. “… It’s cute and sweet and lots of fun. It’s gonna be one of our sing-along numbers because it has a repetitive section.”
Tickets are $15 general, $10 seniors, and $5 students with a valid ID and children 17 and under. The box office is open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday through Friday on school days. Tickets are also available by phone at 932-7490 and online at artscenter.uhh.hawaii.edu.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.