The Ko'olauloa Children's Chorus toured Italy for ten days in Summer 2015, visiting 11 cities in 10 days with world champion fire-knife dancer Achilles Tafiti, the award winning Halau Hula Olana, and was joined by the Appalachian Choir from West Virginia. They had the opportunity to sing at a mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, had three performance concerts in Venice, Montecatini and Palestrina and also did an impromptu concert at the Colosseum in Rome, said the Esther Macy, director of the choir.
The Chorus’ four-song performance during a mass at St. Peter’s Basilica was “highly complimented by Maestro Capone who is in charge of the music at the Vatican,” said Macy.
In addition to holding concerts and choral festivals in Hawaii, the chorus has gone on tours to England, France, Carnegie Hall New York, and China. Plans for this tour have been in motion for the past three years, said Macy.
Kuyo Uli'i, 18 years old and graduating with the choir, went to New York and China. She said, "I feel like Italy's the best way to hit it off with it being my last year. I feel like Italy had more. It was amazing because it had such rich history and art."
The choir had some special moments on tour. In Venice, they received a standing ovation after they performed in front of music professors from the International Federation for Choral Music, the University of Venice and professors from the Conservatory of Venice.
Achilles Tafiti performed the fire-knife dance without incident, even though it is illegal to have any fire in Venice because historic buildings could burn. "The fire-knife dance was a crowd favorite and the show went on without a hitch," said Macy.
One of the highlights for the singers was seeing the Pope conduct the Pallium Mass. "Only a few went," said Macy. "We found out that day that it was overcrowded with archbishops and their guests from all over that world. But a group who woke up real early that day and stood in the long lines got to go. It was worth all the waiting." They were a part of the congregation during the Pallium Mass.
The choir visited the La Scala Opera House in Milan, where famous operas have been performed for centuries. They visited the Tower of Pisa and climbed it, sang for a wedding couple in the city of Florence, visited the famous composer Puccini's home in Lucca and climbed the tower in the city of Siena and even saw the Colosseum in Rome, said Macy.
Macy said she saw miracles during the tour. "One of our singers who was supposed to sing a solo got sick before, during and after the tour," she said. "Yet in Palestrina she was well enough to sing. She told us during the song she couldn't hear herself because her ears and nose were so stuffed, but her voice was absolutely beautiful and clear. After the tour, she went straight to the hospital and had surgery."
One of the highlights for the entire choir was the concluding performance in Palestrina, a city outside of Rome. "When we had this concert we didn't expect a lot of people to be there," said singer Kawena Heffernan.
"During the song, ‘Holding Hands around the World,’ we started crying, because we realized this is our last concert, and we made a difference here in Italy. We felt the Spirit. This lady came up to me after and she was like, ‘How do you sing with that spirit?’ We said, ‘You know we are a choir from Hawaii and we believe in the Latter-Day Saint Gospel.’ And she said, ‘How can I learn of that?’ and that just hit me. Our music can really change lives."
Esther Macy arranged the Primary song "Holding Hands Around the World," by Janice Kapp Perry, in English and Italian for the children to sing for this tour.
The tour brought the choir closer together, Uli'i said, "On tour, you have a bonding experience. Even though we had another choir, the strongest bond is between our choir because being with them for such a long time you get to talk to them. Towards the end of the tour I made a lot more friends in choir."
Macy said, "It was truly exhausting walking a lot during the tour times and then having to perform three major concerts and then sing at a Mass, but it was worth it and I would do it again."
Anyone ages 9-17 can join the choir. They do not audition singers but children must be able to sing on pitch and work in a disciplined but fun environment. Posters placed around the BYUH campus and community advertise when enrollment is open for new singers.