First Annual Dual Congregation Choir Workshop on The Big Island

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September 17, 2025

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Choir Directors and Choir Members from St. Juvenaly and Holy Ascension congregations met together in Waimea (about half-way between Hilo and Kona) on Wednesday, September 17. This was a direct result of the first annual Music Practicum held at St. Seraphim Cathedral in Santa Rosa July 28-August 01 of this year. The program was made possible through the Diocese’s Thriving Parishes Project. Archpriest George Gray (St. Juvenaly) and Priest Benjamin Huggins (Holy Ascension) invited Music Practicum lecturer Deacon Serge Liberovsky (Holy Virgin Mary Cathedral, Los Angeles, CA) to work with both missions’ choirs. 

Dn. Serge provided a reflection on the event:

“This opportunity was particularly poignant as it brought together solid contingents from the choirs of both communities on the Big Island. Geography and long distances make organizing communal events difficult and infrequent even under the best circumstances. Coming together to sing allowed everyone to cooperatively work on a common musical-liturgical language in view of enhancing future concelebrations and joint-mission events.

After warming up together and discussing the body as the musical instrument made in the image and likeness of God (and therefore the only instrument suitable for true worship), we dove into strategies for mission choir singing. The approach focused on selecting hymns that are melodically strong and thus viable for singing with any number of voice parts. We continued with two approaches for two-part singing, discussing how to identify the melody/chant line, then how to harmonize it, utilizing the information given in notation in the score. Participants then practiced this method in different configurations, singing two and three-part harmony both in mixed and treble choir voicings.

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From there, participants learned several new hymn harmonizations, and we discussed various sources for Orthodox liturgical music in English and the history and context of their provenance in the context of Orthodoxy in America. Along the way, rehearsal strategies and techniques were discussed, allowing the choir directors and singers alike to consider learning methods for communal singing and individual practice alike.

After a break for a group picture, the remainder of the afternoon was spent in a workshop discussing practical strategies for applying these methods in the choir, giving the local choir directors “podium time” to conduct and ask questions. In this context, the conductors had the opportunity to consider conducting patterns in Orthodox repertoire, “when to beat and when to hold,” clarity in the gesture through acceleration, and the quality of the preparatory breath as paramount in any choral setting.”

The Diocese is delighted that efforts of its Thriving Parishes Project is yielding fruit such as this in its God-protected and God-loved communities. Many thanks to Fr. George Gray for the pictures and to Dn. Serge for lending his talents to the Big Island and for his report.