SOA Quartets Showcase the Great American Songbook for Hawaii Public Radio

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Quartets from the Sounds of Aloha Chorus returned to Hawaii Public Radio's (HPR) Atherton Studio on Saturday, January 20, 2018, to present "Songs from the Great American Songbook" to a sell-out audience. Parts of the performance will be broadcast later for the HPR program "Applause in a Small Room."

Last year, our quartets introduced HPR listeners to barbershop quartet singing in a well-received concert that led to this year's invitation. This time the performance once again shared some of the history and musical characteristics of the barbershop genre, but also the compelling stories behind some of the most important and influential American popular music from the 1920s through the 1950s, often created for Broadway theatre, musical theatre, and the Hollywood musical film industry. Resonance, Full Measure, Funny Bones, and 19th Avenue performed a variety of these wonderful songs, as quartets and as an ensemble. A big feature of the program was relating the songs and their histories to American life during the times they were written and became popular.

The Sounds of Aloha are grateful to HPR and to Atherton Concert Series sponsor Bonnie Rice and The Rice Partnership for the opportunity to showcase these rich and delightful parts of America's musical heritage.