Greetings from the Kona Choral Society Artistic Director!

I’m listening to a recording of Dan Forrest’s Requiem for the Living as I ponder what I’d like to share with all of you, our Kona Choral Society audience.

Why this work? Why did I choose this work for KCS?

Last summer, as I have done for the last 30 years, I hiked to the summit of Mauna Loa. While in my bunk at the apex of this most massive of mountains, I took out my iPod shuffle, put in my earbuds, and started listening to a recording of it. Those 40 minutes confirmed my hope and desire to bring the work to Kona to share with all of you.

I find the work raw, honest, vivid, and pure. No platitudes here. Although we may come from different faith backgrounds (or no faith background at all), we cannot get through life without experiencing grief in some shape or form.

This work (by a very young composer, by the way) taps into that grieving process in a profound way: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Requiem for the Living has it all, and is written for us in the here and now. The Hawaiian songs which begin our concert, start us off right here on Hawaiʻi Island.

Along with our 100-voice chorus, we are excited to be joined by an orchestra of 20 professional musicians, most of whom are members of our very own Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra. We welcome you to join us in this powerful musical journey and we hope you can share your afternoon with us.

None of this would be possible, of course, without the strength, spirit, and willingness of the KCS board, chorus members, and tremendous energy of our many volunteers and donors.   To all of you, I offer my deepest expression of thanks. Mahalo nui loa e kākou! Mahalo.

Susan McCreary Duprey
Artistic Director