‘SING JOY’ promises to be a heartwarming event

“SING JOY” tickets are $35 ($20 for students). All tickets are general admission, open seating, and may be purchased online at mauichoralarts.org or at the door. The box office will open at 1:15 and the doors at 1:30 p.m.. The venue is ADA-accessible. The concert will run for about 90 minutes, including intermission at St. Anthony Catholic Church at 1618 Lower Main St. in Wailuku.
WAILUKU — Maui Choral Arts presents its annual holiday concert, “SING JOY,” on Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023, at 2 p.m. in the sanctuary at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Wailuku. Led by Artistic Director & Conductor John Rowehl, with pianist Lotus Dancer, the 80-voice chorus will share sacred and secular music for the season, highlighting themes of light, love and joy. This is a heartwarming event to attend, especially after such a stressful year on Maui.
“‘SING JOY’ promises to encourage and uplift,” said Rowehl. “Music has a way of conveying emotion that is enchanted. It makes for a profound and magical experience and plays a role in creating and nurturing community, specifically now in challenging times. Truly, I believe it is music that can save the world, as idealistic as that may sound.”
Multi-talented, Rowehl has an impressive resumé. Trained in classical piano from the age of seven, and twice the winner of the Hawaii State Piano Competition as a teenager, Rowehl, a Navy child, spent middle and high school at Punahou School on Oahu.
“After enduring 29 winters in the Northeast, I finally came to my senses and moved home to Hawaii,” Rowehl shared. “The spirit of aloha never left me. I still hold a wonderful philosophy about the true meaning of aloha. Knowing that the word ‘aloha’, used for both greetings and partings, means ‘love’, I have often thought about how nice it would be if every time we uttered the word ‘aloha’, we were also understood to be saying ‘I love you.’ “
In 2012-13 Rowehl served as Interim Director of Choral Activities at Cornell University, where he was the Conductor of the Glee Club, Chorus, and Chorale. He also held an appointment as Associate Director of Choral Music during 2010-15, besides numerous other creative positions throughout his career. He conducted Cornell choral groups at such venues as the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City. He has also toured internationally in Brazil, China and the United Kingdom. He currently serves as Business Manager at Maui Academy of Performing Arts and is on the faculty at the University of Hawaii Maui College.
“‘SING JOY’ guest musicians include Teresa Skinner on violin, Peter Della Croce on percussion, and Marti Kluth, who will accompany the choir in the world premiere of her own composition, ‘Sweet Hawaiian Christmas,’ “ Rowehl noted. “Terry Pennington will set a festive mood with a pre-concert mini-recital on the organ, featuring well-loved Christmas carols. Please join us for this chance to share festal music together. Happy Holidays!”