About OCS and the Honolulu Symphony Chorus

The Chorus was organized in 1978, when Honolulu Symphony Assistant Conductor Sidney Rothstein formed the group. In 1995, the Chorus reorganized as the O‘ahu Choral Society with Timothy Carney as its music director. Today the singers are known as the Honolulu Symphony Chorus and the O‘ahu Choral Society remains a non-profit corporation in support of the Chorus and the sponsor of the Hawai‘i International Choral Festivals.

The Chorus has performed such choral masterworks as Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast, Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky, Haydn’s Creation, Handel’s Messiah, Suter’s Le Laudi di San Francesco d’Assisi, and Requiems by Brahms, Mozart, Verdi, Fauré, and Duruflé. The group is also featured in performances of a lighter musical style such as the music of Broadway and holiday pops selections. They have performed under conductors Timothy Carney, Sergiu Commissiona, Katsuhisa Hattori, Skitch Henderson, Donald Johanos, Karen Kennedy, Aaron Mahi, Eiji Oe, Scott Speck, Samuel Wong, Sir David Willcocks and renowned choral conductors Joseph Flummerfelt, Robert Page, and Robert Shaw.

On November 30, 2003, the Chorus was featured in a Carnegie Hall performance of Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de confessore with the New England Symphonic Ensemble and under the baton of Karen Kennedy. Other notable performances by the group include the funerals of Hawai‘i’s U. S. Senator Spark Matsunaga, and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos, the Queen Lili’uokalani Commemoration, the Hawai‘i visits of President Bill Clinton and His Holiness the Dalai Lama and, in May 2001, the premier of the film Pearl Harbor aboard the USS John C. Stennis.

The Honolulu Symphony Chorus performs annually at the Hawai‘i International Choral Festival presented by the O`ahu Choral Society and the Honolulu Symphony. The eleventh annual Hawai`i International Choral Festival will be held April 6-12, 2008 culminating in performances of French Choral Masterpieces (Fauré Requiem and Duruflé Requiem) on April 11th and 12th with Karen Kennedy conducting.

The singers of the Honolulu Symphony Chorus are representative of the Honolulu community consisting of members of many professions and several of Hawai‘i’s ethnic groups united by their common talent and love for choral singing. Membership is open to all experienced singers from high school age through senior citizens by the passing of an audition and payment of membership dues.

For information regarding support of the organization, participation in the Chorus or the Hawai‘i International Choral Festivals, please contact Executive Director Ross Taosaka at 808-524-0815 extension 257, by e-mail at symphonychorus@gmail.com or by mail at the address listed below.

Honolulu Symphony Chorus • Oahu Choral Society
650 Iwilei Road, Suite 202
Honolulu, Hawai'i 96817
tel: (808) 524-0815 ext. 257
e-mail: symphonychorus@gmail.com