Editor’s note: An article May 6 on the concert ran an incorrect date. It is the policy of West Hawaii Today to correct promptly any incorrect or misleading information when it is brought to the attention of the newspaper.
Kona Choral Society, under the direction of Artistic Director Susan McCreary Duprey, presents its spring concert, “Beyond Borders,” this Sunday in Keauhou.
The 90-plus-voice chorus, along with vocal soloist and instrumental ensemble, will present the concert with an international and multicultural flavor at 4 p.m. at Sheraton Kona Resort and Spa at Keauhou Bay. The Kona Youth Chorus will serenade concert-goers as they arrive.
Included will be gospel songs, Japanese melodies, an “Americana” medley and Bob Chilcott’s “A Little Jazz Mass,” the chorus’ most-challenging piece, featuring solo vocalist Binti Bailey, percussionist Sharon Cannon, string bassist Delphina Dorrance, electric bassist Jason Stith, and Gloria Juan on keyboard performing jazz accompaniment.
The concert’s musical arrangements are atypical of classical music lineups, but still hold roots in traditional master works. McCreary Duprey broke down barriers for this concert, opening up the dialogue on what can be considered for live choral performance.
“We’re pushing musical boundaries. We’re doing something new, something fun, while pushing our own self-limitations,” she said of the performance’s collection of songs. The title of the concert is not only apropos of the musical growth, but also fittingly appropriate for the group’s upcoming choral tour to Japan.
The theme of Sunday’s concert, “Beyond Borders,” was created in part because members of the Kona Choral Society will join Oahu’s Windward Choral Society on a tour to Japan this summer. While there, the two choruses will present this same repertoire to audiences June 23 in Kyoto and June 25 in Tokyo.
“This is an exciting opportunity for us,” McCreary Duprey said. “It’s such as wonderful experience to share music and see similarities within the personalities of choral singers across cultures.”
Tickets can be purchased at Kona Bay Books, Kona Stories, online, or at the door.
Info: www.konachoralsociety.org, 334-9880. ■