The Waimea Consort

An a capella vocal ensemble on the Island of Hawai'i

The Waimea Consort is a vocal ensemble performing medieval, renaissance, baroque, romantic and 20th century a capella vocal music.

Born in the Fall of 1998, and made of amateur singers, the group aims at bringing rarely sung vocal music to the Island of Hawai'i

You can find midi files of most of the pieces we have performed, or  are learning, here...
and some pictures of the Consort here.

Want to know about performing arts events on the  Island of Hawai'i? Go to the hawaiitheatre yahoo group!


 
 
The members of the Consort

Performances to come

18 February 2006 - 5pm - First United Protestant Church, Hilo

19 February 2006 - 4pm - Davies Memorial Chapel, HPA Upper Campus, Waimea
______________________

From Dunstable and Purcell to Barber and Tavener

A program of a cappella music from England and the USA

In keeping with its tradition of bringing rarely heard a cappella vocal music to the Island of Hawai’i, the 12-singer a cappella vocal ensemble will sing music from the fifteen to the twentieth century, this time focusing on English and American composers.

The program will open with a piece by John Dunstable, considered as the most significant English composer of the early Fifteenth Century. His compositions mark the transition from medieval to modern sonorities and the contrast of his “Descendi in ortum meum” with Thomas Tallis’ “O Nata Lux”, written one century later, is indeed striking. Coming next will be Tallis’s student William Byrd, a contemporary of Shakespeare said to be the greatest English composer, with a beautiful setting of “Miserere mei, Deus”. Moving to a third generation of master-student relationship, Thomas Tomkins, one of Byrd’s pupils, will be next with “When David heard”, a very expressive and moving 5-part song depicting the mourning of David for his son. Tomkins, though composing in the first decades of the Seventeenth Century, was still a Renaissance composer, not influenced at all by the emergence of the Baroque style that Henri Purcell prominently personified in the English music a few decades later. If Purcell is famous for his instrumental and theatre music, especially “Dido and Aenea”, one of the finest operas of the 17th century, he is less known for his a cappella compositions of sacred anthems. The Consort will perform two of them:  “Lord, how long will Thou be angry?” a 5-part song using excerpts from Psalm 79, and “Hear my prayer, O Lord”, offering three minutes of exquisite 8-part harmonization on a single verse (the first) of Psalm 102.

It is time to move in time and space, more precisely to Boston toward the end of the 18th century with William Billings. A friend of Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, Billings wrote the first book of American music, “The New-England Psalm-Singer”. Two of his most famous pieces will be performed by the Consort: “When Jesus wept”, a fine round (canon), and “David’s lamentation”, an interesting echo to Tomkins’ piece written 200 years earlier. Hymns by Jeremy Ingalls, who worked in Vermont in the early 19th century, will close our first visit to America. A short trip back to England for a romantic piece by Edward Elgar, who wrote much more than his famous Cello concerto or “Pomp and Circumstance Marches”, and we are back in America for an intimate rendition of Samuel Barber’s “Agnus Dei”, the choral arrangement the composer made of his string quartet Adagio movement. After a nice choral arrangement of a Duke Ellington’s piece, the concert will end in England with “The Lamb”, a piece written in 1982 by Sir John Tavener, one of the most talented contemporary English composers.


The Waimea Consort is comprised of amateur singers led by Christian Veillet, the director of Canada France Hawaii Telescope.  They come together to share their love of early music with the community.  After six years of singing without instruments, these singers have created their own niche with their special music. Music lovers seeking rarely heard pieces would be delighted to attend this unusual Concert, worth a drive uphill from either side of the Island.  The stone and wood chapel has the perfect acoustical setting for this small consort of a cappella voices. 

 This is a free concert! Donations are gratefully accepted to help the Consort, a 501(c)3 organization, offer free performances beyond Waimea.


 
Would you be interested in hosting a performance? E-mail the director!


Past performances
2005
 2004
 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999



2005
Spring Concert   

Sunday, May 1st -  4pm
Davies Memorial Chapel - HPA Upper Campus (Waimea/Kamuela)

It's all about Birds
Valentine's Concert

Sunday, February 13 -  4pm
Davies Memorial Chapel - HPA Upper Campus (Waimea/Kamuela)

The a cappela choir will perform love songs from the fourteenth to the twentieth centuries as part of the program. The other part of the program will be a first for the Big Island, with large excerpts from the Messe de Nostre Dame by Guillaume de Machaut. It's a rare performance that anyone seeking early music would enjoy.

The announcement of the concert is here.

   

2004 
Around Christmas - Lessons and Carols

Sunday, December 13 - 4:30pm
Davies Memorial Chapel - HPA Upper Campus (Waimea/Kamuela)
Hawaii Preparatory Academy will present the school’s first Lessons and Carols at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, December 12 at Davies Chapel. The event is free and open to the public. The service of Lessons and Carols is an Anglican tradition with its roots dating to the fifteenth century as people celebrated the Advent season. “Our Lessons and Carols service is intended to be a community event in this Advent season as we prepare for the celebration of Christmas,” said Father Walter A. Stevens III, HPA chaplain.

The Waimea Consort and Upper School students will lead the caroling.


Spring Concerts
Sunday, June 6 - 4pm 
Mokuaikaua Church (Kona)


Saturday, April 24 - 7pm

Davies Memorial Chapel - HPA Upper Campus (Waimea/Kamuela)
See the announcement here.

Bach's "Jesu, meine Freude" and Monteverdi's "Lamento d'Arianna" were be the highlight of a cappella performance featuring one piece from each of the concerts given by the Consort over these past five years and covering eight centuries of vocal polyphony.

2003
Fall Concert - Saturday, November 23 - 7:00 pm
Davies Memorial Chapel - Hawaii Preparatory Academy - Waimea
See  the Concert announcement and program here

Two Venetian Masses from St Mark by A. Gabrieli and A. Lotti, and Trois Chansons sur des poemes de Charles d'Orleans by C. Debussy were the highlights of the concert. The Consort was back to 12 singers for the first time since many years, for its best concert so far.
Easter Concerts
Friday, April 27, 7pm 
Mokuaikaua Church (Kona)
Friday, April 11 - 7pm 
Davies Memorial Chapel - Hawaii Preparatory Academy - Waimea
The first part of this 2003 Easter concert is devoted to music for thetime of Easter: an opportunity to travel through the centuries from the early Renaissance with Dufay, the Renaissance with Byrd and Pederson, the Baroque with Bach and the Romantic era with Mendelssohn. In the second part, the Consort celebrates the spring season through a series of songs:  the alert polyphony around the month of May with madrigals from the Renaissance, a more somber vision by Brahms, ending with the celebration of the end of Winter by Debussy.

 

2002
Christmas Concert - Sunday, December 22 - 7:30 pm
Davies Memorial Chapel - Hawaii Preparatory Academy - Waimea

First half of the concert was dedicated to Christmas related polyphony from composers like Sweelinck, Shutz or Mendelssohn. The second half was devoted to Carols, a singing along session with the audience closing the concert. 
 
Fall Concert - Friday, October 4 - 7:30 pm
Davies Memorial Chapel - Hawaii Preparatory Academy - Waimea
See  the Concert announcement here

Instead of a program made of many short pieces covering many centuries, this concert featured only a few reasonably long pieces all from the Renaissance period. Ockegem, Josquin des Prez, Byrd and Monteverdi were the composers of choice. The Lagrime d'Amante..., closing the concert, was a real treat for the audience!


 

2001
Christmas Concert - Sunday 16 December 2001 - 7 p.m.
Davies Memorial Chapel - Hawaii Preparatory Academy - Waimea
Announcement is here

A traditional concert, with a blend of well known Carols and less heard Christmas related classical pieces. Singing along with the audience (~100 people) for the last carols was good!
Fall Concert - Sunday 28 October 2001 - 7 p.m.
Davies Memorial Chapel - Hawaii Preparatory Academy - Waimea
See  the Concert announcement here

A good crowd (more than 120 people) came to the HPA Chapel for this concert. For those who have been following the Consort since its creation, it was the best concert so far... 
2000
Around Christmas...
December 21, 22 & 23, at Parker School Theatre (Waimea)
    Members of the Waimea Consort were the "Angel Chorus" in "A gift of Christmas", a musical play written by Patty Bigelow, presented by the Kizarr Repertory Company, and directed by B. Lee Drew.

December 16 & 17 at Kahilu Theatre (Waimea)
    Members of the Waimea Consort were the "Carolers" in the 2000 edition of the Hawaiian Nutcracker.

Wednesday, December 6 - 18:00, at the Hilton.
    A selection of Christmas carols for the Christmas Tree Lighting.

Tuesday, December 95- 19:30, at Parker Square (Waimea).
    A selection of Christmas music for Light Up a Life.
French music at the time of the French Festival in Honolulu.
The Waimea Consort has been on Oahu on November 3/4, 2000, at the time of the French Festival. The following events took place:

- An hour with the Music History class of the UH Manoa Department of Music (Dr Ruth O. Bingham, Lecturer). Early music pieces have been presented and discussed (Nov. 3, 10:30-11:30).

- A "public rehearsal" with the French Division of the UH Manoa Dept. of European Languages & Literature (Dr. Kathryn Klingebiel, Professor). Emphasis has been given to the French language(s), from Old French to contemporary French through Renaissance poetry (Nov. 3, 15:30-17:00).

- A Concert at St. Andrew's Cathedral (Nov. 3, 19:30).
The Waimea Consort has  presented works by French composers from the 13th to the 20th century. A unique opportunity to discover rarely sung vocal music from the Middle Age, Renaissance love songs or more contemporary pieces by St. Saens, Poulenc or Milhaud, at the time of the 2000 French Festival of Hawaii.
Here is the program... and here is the poster of the concert!
Spring Concert, Sunday, May 14, at 7:00 pm, in the HPA upper campus chapel
The program is here
Saturday February 12, 7:00 pm - First United Protestant Church, Hilo
    A journey through a cappella music covering five centuries. This was our first "long" concert, with an intermission and a lot of demanding pieces performed. We didn't get too many people for this one, but they were both surprised and thrilled by what they heard... Let's hope they will spread the word among the Hilo community! Here is the announcement (PDF file), and here is the program.

1999
Around Christmas...
 
Thursday, December 23 - 18:00, at the Hilton.
    A selection of Christmas carols.

Wednesday , December 15 - ~20:00, at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, for the HPA Christmas dinner.
    A selection of Christmas carols.

Thursday, December 9 - 19:30, at Parker Square (Waimea).
    A selection of Christmas music for Light Up a Life

Sunday, December 12 - 18:30, at the Mormon Church (Waimea).
    A short program for the multi-choir Waimea Christmas Concert 
Fall Concert, Sunday, November 21, at 6:30 pm, in the HPA upper campus chapel.
Here is the announcement (pdf file), and here is the program.
Saturday, November 6 - 14:00, for the Waimea Outdoor circle - Behind Canada France  Headquarters, Waimea
A 20 mn performance for the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Circle on the grounds of the Waimea Nature Park.
Sunday June 27 - 14:00 - Imiola Church, Waimea
A 30 mn performance for the installation of the new pastor.  The program is here...
Thursday June 17 - Thelma Parker Library Meeting Room
A short program for the annual meeting of the Friends of the Library  for half an hour. The program is here...
The first concert of the Waimea Consort took place on May 21 1999, at the Davies Memorial Chapel on the Hawaii Preparatory Academy upper campus. 
The program is here, and the announcement here...
More than 100 people came to hear us, and they were very pleased by the perfomance. A good encouragement to keep going and share with the community the result of our work.
The Waimea Consort had a performance for friends and families at the end of February 1999. More than a performance, it has been a musical progress report which allowed the group to sing in front of auditors, and to realize that it could find a public for this kind of music, thanks to the appreciation of the audience. The program is here...

Information

If you want to know more about the Waimea Consort, e-mail its Director!...


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