Waimea Community Chorus revisits the “Tin Pan Alley” era in its 22nd annual Spring Concert Saturday and Sunday at Kahilu Theatre.
The concert, “Back to Tin Pan Alley,” will feature songs made popular during a unique and fascinating time in American song history. The concert is described by Chorus Director Barbara Kopra as “the great American Song Book, Chapter 1.”
But what is Tin Pan Alley? Despite the recognizable nature of the title, few are actually familiar with the meaning behind the name. Popular music in America began booming in the 1880s, supplanting hymns and classical music. Public interest grew, Vaudeville became popular and demand for new songs increased. Without radio, or even the phonograph, new songs were circulated by selling sheet music, primarily for piano. Music publishers began locating on a stretch of 28th Street in Manhattan and composers, singers, musicians and salesmen flooded the area to buy, sell, play or promote songs and sheet music sales. The specific area, the style of music, and the industry itself soon came to be called Tin Pan Alley, supposedly because of the sound of pianos endlessly playing throughout the area.
Many musicians, like Irving Berlin and the Gershwins, rose to fame on both their songwriting and their salesmanship talents, and the industry boomed until the Great Depression, when radio began to come into its prime. But the music itself of the period has remained popular, and most people are familiar with dozens of “Tin Pan Alley” songs, though probably unfamiliar with their history.
The concert will feature a wide selection of songs from the era, many of them instantly recognizable to the audience, including songs from popular shows, popular composers, popular performers, and from the early swing/big band era, which had its start in Tin Pan Alley. There was even a “Hawaiian” period in Tin Pan Alley, where songs about Hawaii, (many with imaginative, “Hawaiian-sounding” lyrics) dominated popular music, and the concert will present a medley of these hapa-haole tunes. These songs, despite their lack of real connection to Hawaii itself, were a staple of the times, and created the allure of Hawaii in the American consciousness.
WCC’s concert will be presented 7 p.m. Saturday at Kahilu Theatre, and again as a matinée at 3 p.m. Sunday. Ticket prices are $18 for adults, with a $2 discount for seniors and students, and a half-price charge for children under 12.
An advance purchase discount is available as well on tickets purchased from Waimea General Store, Without Boundaries Gifts, Waikoloa Mailbox or from the cast. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.kahilutheatre.org.
Info: www.waimeacommunitytheatre.org, 885-5818. ■