Big Island Singers, a 36-member chorus, will present a series of “Fire and Ice” concerts, November 21-23, with the first performance at Church of the Holy Cross on Friday, November 21, at 7:00 pm. Under the direction of Douglas Albertson, the hour-long program presents a variety of vocal musical styles. Audiences will hear pieces describing qualities the title reflects, like: freezing cold, scorching heat, icy hearts, hot passions, fresh snow, scorched earth.
The “Fire and Ice” theme idea came during Albertson’s graduate school days at Portland State University. He stated, “My PSU faculty advisor did a similarly titled program. The centerpiece of that concert caught my imagination – two astounding song cycles by the great contemporary composer, Morten Lauridsen.”
Big Island Singers will feature excerpts from these two major works, including “Winter Songs,” which uses poetry by Robert Graves. “These pieces for chorus are written for a very advanced pianist. In our case, we are fortunate to have a fantastically accomplished accompanist in Doug Howell,” continued Albertson. “Part of the reason we’re taking on these challenging pieces is because this season we have Doug’s talent to pull them off!”
Another piece on the program is one the men will present, called “Ring of Fire,” originally sung by Johnny Cash. The women, on the other hand, will perform a song by Emil Crocker, based on the poem by Robert Frost called “Fire and Ice.” Teresa Mondoy, debuting as Big Island Singers’ associate director, stated, “It’s been such an honor to work with this group of incredible singers. And I’ve really enjoyed the chance to help pull together such a beautiful original song for our fine women singers.”
A modern piece, “I See Fire,” arranged by Jefse Bremer, was originally sung by Ed Sheeran for the film The Hobbit. This piece features one of the group’s soloists, Roni Koscik, who said, “It’s always an honor to be selected for a solo, and especially for this Ed Sheeran song. It’s a chance to use a vocal style different from classical choral singing.”
The fall concerts will be held:
- Friday, November 21 at 7 p.m. at the Church of the Holy Cross, 440 W. Lanikāula Street, Hilo
- Saturday, November 22, 4 p.m. at the First United Protestant Church, 1350 Waiānuenue Avenue, Hilo
- Sunday, November 23, 4 p.m. at the Center for Spiritual Living, 15-1833 Paradise Drive, Kea’au
The concerts are open to the public free of charge. Donations will be gladly accepted.
