Kauai Voices will present “Classics II — The Music Lives On!” next weekend. Shows are scheduled 7:30 p.m Saturday, June 3, and 3 p.m. Sunday, June 4, at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Lihue. “We’re thrilled to
Kauai Voices will present “Classics II — The Music Lives On!” next weekend.
Shows are scheduled 7:30 p.m Saturday, June 3, and 3 p.m. Sunday, June 4, at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Lihue.
“We’re thrilled to celebrate our 13th season with a fabulous and diverse program of music by some of the greatest classical composers of all time,” said Kauai Voices Artistic Director Randy Leonard, noting that the classics theme reflects the Voices’ first presentation of the classics during season five in June of 2013.
This season, Kauai Voices explores songs from many eras — from Gregorian chants and madrigals to the Baroque, classical and classically contemporary — with compositions from J.S. Bach, Wolfgang Mozart, Franz Schubert, Baldassare Donato and Giuseppe Verdi to Morten Lauridsen, Randall Thompson and Leonard Cohen.
“The classics are the foundation of our music from the past, the present, and for the future,” said Leonard. “This music stirs the imagination, stimulates great emotion from deep within our inner souls and reaches across generations, cultures, countries and beliefs. It stimulates intelligence, growth, and success. What would our lives be like without music? These are the rocks that built our music as we know it today.”
Leonard said musical influences by Mozart, who is often referred to as the greatest musical genius of all time, are evident in everything from Bugs Bunny cartoons to the rock and roll of Van Hafen and Billy Joel. Kauai Voices highlights his compositions of Exsultate Juilate, Requiem, and an interpretation of his Turkish March from Piano Sonata No. 11.
Johann Sebastian Bach, created religious-based music, yet one of his most recognizable pieces is in the movie “Fantasia,” which uses his Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. And nearly two centuries after Bach composed Prelude No.1 inC Major, another composer, Charles Gounod took the piece and added a vocal layer on top of it to create the popular Ave Maria, which Kauai Voices will sing, as well as other Bach favorites such as a piece from his Magnificat.
Kauai Voices, founded in 2011, is a popular, auditioned 40-voice choral ensemble. It produces two seasons of concerts each year in Lihue. The shows feature a different theme each season with different styles and genres of music. The group typically is accompanied by piano, an instrumental ensemble, and also highlights soloists, duets, and small vocal groups.
Tickets for the Classics II concerts are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.kauaivoices.org
