The Big Island Singers will be presenting its second season of music to East Hawaii audiences with three hourlong performances this weekend.
The Big Island Singers, or BIS, is a newly formed 33-member vocal group that debuted last April. The choir was started by Doug Albertson, who made Hilo his home in 2018 after retiring from a career in music education and community arts programs.
The BIS will be performing the program, “Building Connections: Bridging Divides,” for free.
The fall selections include over a dozen pieces pulled from 500-years of choral literature, with works by historic masters like William Byrd and Franz Joseph Haydn, as well as current composers like Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein.
“We’re really excited to bring this music to our family, friends and supporters,” Albertson said. “Hours and hours of rehearsal has been volunteered by the singers, and it shows. Their voices ring-out so sensitively it pulls the heart and soul out of each song in our program.”
The centerpiece of the concert is a three-movement medley arranged by Hilo-grown composer Michael O. Springer. Vernon Sanders’ arrangement of popular songs will conclude the concert.
The fall series will tour churches in Hilo beginning at 7 p.m. on Friday with a show at the Hilo United Methodist Church. The next performance will be at 4 p.m. on Saturday at First United Protestant Church, and Holy Apostles Episcopal Church will host the last performance at 4 p.m. on Sunday.