CONCERT:       

VOICES OF KALAUPAPA – COMMUNITY CONCERT
Saturday, May 16, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
Cathedral Church of St. Andrew, Queen Emma Square
Corner of Beretania and Queen Emma Streets in Honolulu.

ARTISTS:       

Honolulu Symphony Chorus
Honolulu Chamber Choir (debut performance)
St. Andrew’s Cathedral Choir
Members of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra
John Renke, organ
Esther S. Yoo, conductor
                                     

PROGRAM:   

LAURIDSEN: Lux Aeterna
WOMACK: Voices of Kalaupapa

TICKETS:   

Tickets are $20. Tickets for students, seniors and active military are $10. Open seating.
Call (808) 524-0815, ext. 257 or email symphonychorus@gmail.com for more information.
   
HONOLULU – The O‘ahu Choral Society will present the world premiere of a newly-commissioned work, “Voices of Kalaupapa,” by composer Donald Reid Womack at a community concert on Saturday, May 16, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. at the Cathedral Church of St. Andrew in Honolulu. “Voices of Kalaupapa” celebrates the life and legacy of Father Damien de Veuster in the year that he will be canonized. Known as the “Apostle of the Lepers,” Father Damien is regarded as the spiritual patron of several life-threatening diseases, as well as outcasts. Honolulu Symphony Chorus director Dr. Esther Yoo will conduct members of the Honolulu Symphony Chorus, the Honolulu Chamber Choir and members of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra in this historic performance.

“Voices of Kalaupapa” is the result of the O‘ahu Choral Society’s first Call for Compositions, which commissions a new work by composers with ties to Hawaii. It was made possible by a generous grant from the City and County of Honolulu Mayor's Office of Culture and the Arts. Dr. Womack, a renowned composer and professor at the University of Hawaii, was selected for the commission in February 2009.

“Voices of Kalaupapa” utilizes text from the Latin Mass, the Hawaiian language translation of the Bible and quotes from Father Damien. It will potentially become a larger oratorio for a future Hawaii International Choral Festival.

“I believe that Dr. Womack’s sensitive and dramatic style has resulted in a powerful work that relates the compassion of Father Damien to audiences here in Hawai‘i in this very special year,” said Dr. Yoo. “All of us at the Honolulu Symphony Chorus are thankful for this exceptional opportunity made possible by the City and County of Honolulu Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts.”

The concert will also feature the Hawaii premiere of Morten Lauridsen’s “Lux Aeterna,” which showcases the intrinsic beauty of choral singing. Members of St. Andrew’s Cathedral Choir will unite with the Symphony Chorus for the performance of the exquisite “Lux Aeterna.”

In 2007, Lauridsen was the recipient of the National Medal of Arts from the President in a White House ceremony, “for his composition of radiant choral works combining musical beauty, power and spiritual depth that have thrilled audiences worldwide.” The National Medal of Arts is the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the United States government. Laurideson’s works have been featured on more than 100 CD recordings, three of which received Grammy nominations.
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The O‘ahu Choral Society is a non-profit organization in support of both the Honolulu Symphony Chorus and the Honolulu Chamber Choir.

About Donald Reid Womack
Donald Reid Womack has been a faculty member at the University of Hawai‘i since 1994 and serves as professor of composition and theory. His music has been heard on five continents and he has been honored by more than 50 awards and commissions, including a Fulbright Senior Researcher Grant to work in Japan. His major works include a symphony, a violin concerto and most recently, a concerto for shakuhachi, koto and orchestra commissioned by the Honolulu Symphony. In 1996, the German periodical “Neue Musikzeitung” placed Dr. Womack among a group of young American composers who “justify hopes that America should be capable of providing stimulus for a new century.” For more information, please visit www.donaldwomack.com.