Sounds of Aloha's blog

Singing Valentines 2022!

Submitted by Sounds of Aloha on February 17, 2022 - 12:00am

For the second year in a row, Sounds of Aloha quartets delivered safely sung musical messages for a Valentine’s Day still not entirely free of COVID. Check out photos of some highlights below. While we delivered fewer Singing Valentines this year than in past years unaffected by COVID, somehow every delivery was a memorable success -- for sender, recipient, and singers alike! We so enjoyed contributing to the celebrations people were having.

Here are couple of testimonials from our customers:

SOA Returns to In-Person Performing with Christmas Concert - See Video Here!

Submitted by Sounds of Aloha on December 13, 2021 - 11:50am

On December 11, 2022, the Sounds of Aloha were thrilled to return to performing live and in person after a long COVID hiatus that had limited us to virtual performances! We were honored to sing Christmas songs for a relatively small, distanced, and masked audience of true music lovers at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu.

We are grateful to the church and its Director of Music and Liturgy, Scott Fikse, who runs a formidable music program there -- and also is an experienced and talented barbershopper! In fact, we couldn't resist calling him up to sub in as bass and sing a song with one of our quartets, 19th Avenue. You can watch the whole performance by clicking on any of the images below:

SOA's Video "Songs of the Season" Benefits Hawaii Theatre

Submitted by Sounds of Aloha on December 6, 2021 - 12:00am

While the time wasn’t quite right yet in 2022 for the Sounds of Aloha Chorus to hold our traditional Christmas show in person again, we were delighted to record another video holiday performance on stage at the Hawaii Theatre. The video of “Songs of the Season” was and is available for viewing on the Hawaii Theatre website, for a contribution to the Theatre, which like all live performance venues has had a rough go of things for the past couple of years.

SOA Quartets Return to Hawaii Public Radio

Submitted by Sounds of Aloha on June 24, 2021 - 12:00am

Back in 2016 and again in 2018, quartets from the Sounds of Aloha were featured in two episodes of Hawaii Public Radio’s show “Applause in a Small Room.” Named for HPR’s Atherton Studio, the weekly broadcast showcased live performances of musicians from Hawaii and elsewhere, recorded in front of small studio audiences. Our quartets had a chance to teach the audience and listeners about our singing style and perform as individual quartets and as a larger ensemble (in barbershop vernacular, a "very large quartet," or "VLQ").

Our Second "Drive-By" Ice Cream Social!

Submitted by Sounds of Aloha on June 1, 2021 - 12:00am

For the second time, the Sounds of Aloha Chorus was forced to forgo our traditional ice cream social out of lingering COVID problems, but like last year, we still wanted a chance to combine some singing with some ice cream—and to help out our friends from Dave’s Hawaiian Ice Cream, who have generously donated ice cream for our past socials. So on May 30, 2021, we were back at the Ilikai Hotel porte-cochère, delivering pre-ordered Dave’s ice cream and waffle bowls to customers, accompanied to the live sound of quartet singing!

COVID Can't Stop SOA Singing Valentines!

Submitted by Sounds of Aloha on February 20, 2021 - 12:00am

There may have been fewer of them delivered overall, many were sung through masks and/or outdoors, and a few were delivered virtually, but the Sounds of Aloha found ways during this COVID pandemic to go ahead and provide our popular annual Singing Valentines to lovebirds!

We were grateful this year to our friends at KHON television for helping spread the word with this Take2 story on Wake Up 2day.

You Still Can Watch SOA's Christmas Benefit Video for Hawaii Theatre!

Submitted by Sounds of Aloha on December 15, 2020 - 12:00am

The Sounds of Aloha Chorus held its first ever Virtual Christmas Concert on Sunday, December 13, 2020, a benefit performance to support the historic Hawai'i Theatre consisting of fun highlights of past SOA performances there, new performances by local quartets, and some very special guest appearances. It's still available for online viewing!

How to Hold an Ice Cream Social During a Pandemic!

Submitted by Sounds of Aloha on November 2, 2020 - 12:00am

For years, the Sounds of Aloha have held a popular ice cream social, with roaming quartets, all-you-can-eat ice cream and toppings, and a short chorus performance at the end. This year, with most everything shut down during the COVID pandemie, we haven't been able to gather and perform live. But that challenge pales in comparison to the impact COVID has had on so many small businesses.

SOA Offers Virtual Memorial Day Tribute

Submitted by Sounds of Aloha on May 25, 2020 - 4:00pm

The members of the Sounds of Aloha Chorus were sad not to be rendezvousing early on the morning of Memorial Day 2020 to ride a bus up to Punchbowl crater, as we have been doing now for several years. We alway find the Mayor's Memorial Day Ceremony both poignant and inspirational. But we still managed to find a way to observe the occasion! Below is the message that we sent out with our second recording as a "virtual chorus," which you can watch and hear by clicking here:

Sharing Sounds of Aloha with Our Friends Virtually

Submitted by Sounds of Aloha on April 13, 2020 - 9:35pm

Separated from one another's voices, and trying to bring a little musical comfort to our friends and neighbors while we all ride out the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sounds of Aloha Chorus decided to cobble together a virtual performance from their individual homes. We were overjoyed to be rejoined by some of our long-distance members, from as far away as our friend Sig Rønbeck above the Arctic Circle in Norway!

Here's the message we sent out on April 11, 2020, and which we extend to you:

The Sounds of Aloha Chorus hopes all of our friends are faring well during these difficult and disruptive times.