Chief Sepass Theatre is being transformed, mainly through music, into a Hawaiian paradise this weekend – with a lot of help from a team of local young musicians.
Langley Ukulele Ensemble will be hosting two concerts in the Fort Langley auditorium on Saturday, back-to-back fundraisers for the group’s impending trip to Waikiki.
The spring productions, called “With a Little Aloha,” will celebrate the ensembles much anticipated return to Honolulu in July, announced Paul Luongo, director of the senior A music ensemble.
“Not being in Waikiki since the 25th anniversary tour in 2019, the world has evolved and changed in ways no one could have ever imagined,” Luongo noted.
“Knowing this, the spirit of Aloha still remains strong and at the core of the ensemble’s values, as the musicians prepare for this celebratory return.”
So, he promised both of this weekend’s shows will be a tribute of sorts to the performances the kids have presented at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel & Resort years after year.
“Knowing that the ensemble often perform nightly at the Sheraton Waikiki, this presentation will combine all the themes of music into one night, bound to be full of excellent music, laughs, fun, love, and appreciation,” said Luongo, a former student turned teacher who has travelled to the islands in both capacities multiple times through the years.
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Highlighting music through the generations and nations, the ensemble will perform arrangements of songs ranging from the 1950s all the way to ’80s, while featuring popular traditional, folk, and cultural pieces or songs from music around the world, he explained.
The show, “With a Little Aloha,” is titled after his father’s, Peter’s, original song, and the ensemble has used the lyrics of the song as inspiration to choose music that “can truly and positively touch one’s heart,” Luongo said.
With the ensemble poised for a much anticipated return to perform nightly at the Sheraton Waikiki, Saturday’s production will also feature numerous traditional Hawaiian songs and arrangements that are meaningful to the relationships and connections that the ensemble and Langley Ukulele Association has built up in Hawaii during that 25-year history.
“Knowing and understanding the importance of aloha, and its multiple meanings, the ensemble will perform traditional Hawaiian songs varying from playful love songs, to lullabies, and songs singing about aloha,” Luongo elaborated.
With the spirit of aloha at the forefront of the hour-and-a-half long shows, “it is our hope to inspire all audience members through positivity, hopefulness, mindfulness, love, and appreciation for one another,” he concluded.
The matinee performance is at 3 p.m., while the evening show gets underway at 7 p.m. Both shows are being held at the Chief Sepass Theatre (at the back of Langley Fine Arts School) at 9096 Trattle St. in Fort Langley.
Tickets are still available online at www.langleyukes.com.
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