KCS “Joy to the World” and New Pink Floyd cover band tackles ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ and Maggie Herron

Embark on a holiday journey this season with the Kona Choral Society as they take audiences on a cultural exploration.

The annual free concert, “Joy to the World,” will commence at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 2 at the Old Airport Makaeo Pavilion in Kailua-Kona, combining international sounds and traditional carols, in a harmonious celebration of unity and fellowship.

Artistic director of the KCS, Susan McCreary Duprey, encourages guests — whether coming from a shopping trip or day at the beach — to join the sing-along performance. In what has become the unofficial launch of the holidays in Kona, Duprey and her 115-member chorus have made it their musical mission to bring the live choral experience to the community.

“This is the perfect way to start off the holiday season,” Duprey said of the highly anticipated yearly show. “It’s a concert for those who enjoy singing along. It’s a break, a tradition, in an otherwise busy time of year, to come together.”

Before the festive sing-a-long holiday staples, Duprey has selected seven arrangements that showcase the wonders of the world, winter, and spiritual connectedness. Setting the stage for the musical journey, the first song takes audiences to the Southern Hemisphere, in the jungles of the Amazon forest. In “Tres Cantos Nativos,” by Marcos Leite, the chorus will emulate the sounds of the forest through improvisational animal calls and jungle noises to the vibrations of heavy percussion. The three short songs are based on the music from the indigenous Krao tribe of the Xingu River area of Brazil.

Next, the audience will travel to North America with the song “This We Know” with lyrics attributed to Chief Seattle. The song speaks to the strand of life, the environment of which the indigenous people of North America were rooted, with text that emphasizes the concept of belonging to the Earth and the connection of all things.

The musical thread of the welcoming embrace of seasonal change will continue into the third number, “Glow,” composed by Eric Whitacre. “This song takes us into the season. It’s quite beautiful and mysterious,” explained Duprey of the winter-themed carol. “Like the softly falling snow, this song slowly breaks us into what the holidays are all about.”

It is this theme of nature and nostalgia, woven together with traditional spiritual overtones, that will be reflected in the following four songs: Amy Grant’s “No Eye Had Seen,” hymns “See Amid the Winter’s Snow” and “Jesus Christ the Appletree,” and “Season of Light,” The two hymns, in particular, represent a bygone era of Christmas carols, as well as loved songs dating back to the 1700 and 1800s, that tug at the heart with their symbolistic rhyme, harmonic beauty, and bond with nature.

Next, serving as a prelude to the Christmas and traditional carols, a brass quintet will perform festive best-loved hits to jumpstart the holiday spirit. Following the interlude, Duprey will lead her full ensemble, along with a guest appearance by the KCS Youth Chorus members, in the crowd favorite, audience participation, sing-along portion of the concert. Leading the way will be “Silent Night,” performed in five languages: English, German, Hawaiian, Japanese and Spanish. Following will be the easily recognizable Mendelson and Guaraldi song, “Christmas Time is Here,” a perennial classic best-known from “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The repertoire will continue with “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” the Hawaiian Christmas carol “Nani Ke Li‘i ki‘ek‘ie” by Leila Hohu Kiaha, “Christmas Gloria” (“Hark!, O Little Town,” “Angels We Have Heard”), and “Joy to the World.”

A special rendition of “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah — a sneak-peek from the KCS’s second holiday showcase — along with the accompanying sounds of timpani, organ, and brass, will conclude the show.

So as December brings with it its typical hustle and bustle, KCS encourage locals to tourists alike to take moment, grab a friend or family member, and head down to the Old Airport to refuel the soul with the sounds of holiday nostalgia.

Info: Contact Susan Leonard at konachoralsociety@gmail.com. Parking and concert are free to the public and light refreshments will be available. Donations will be accepted to support the KCS Youth Program.

Everything under the sun is in tune, and 11 Hawaii Island musicians are ready to take audiences to “The Dark Side of the Moon.”

Playing the complete 1973 album by Pink Floyd, “All That Is Now” is a new show to premiere Thursday, Nov. 29, at the Kahilu Theatre in Waimea. It’s a collaboration of musicians Dan Brauer, Robby Malovic, Joe Lorusso, Jocelyn Michelle, Scott Van Spronsen, Scotty Nelson, Lauren Broido, Duncan Bamsey, Stephanie Lou Tatum, Cayenne Clarke and Alicia Maher. The group will play two hour-long performances at 7 and 9 p.m.

“Pink Floyd, they are legends in the rock world,” vocalist Maher said. “This particular album, it struck a chord for so many years. There’s just something about it that resonates with people and resonated with all of us, which kind of drove the project into what it became.”

All of the musicians in the collaboration are from the island, and while some have played together, all 11 have never been on the same stage before.

Covering a classic album with a large group of musicians takes time, and “All That Is Now” has been in the making for a year. Vocalist and guitarist Brauer and drummer Lorusso first thought up the concept, and Brauer added bassist Malovic, who is a member with Brauer of Hawaii Island band Leche de Tigre. The rest of the musicians were found along the way.

“We pieced it together as time went on from friends and recommendations,” Maher said.

Choosing to cover Pink Floyd was an easy choice for the group. They are one of the most famous rock bands of all time, and “The Dark Side of the Moon” is their bestselling album, with 45 million copies sold.

“It’s very tasteful, there’s not a lot of flash,” guitarist and vocalist Brauer said of Pink Floyd. “And I think that stands true with the performers in the band. They weren’t flashy. The people that liked Pink Floyd liked them for their music.”

Brauer said the show will stay as true to the original recording as possible, and with 11 musicians, making sure everyone is on the same page has been one of the group’s greatest challenges.

“I think a challenge is, because people have listened to this thing for so many years, over the decades, that everybody knows every single note,” Brauer said. “It’s been interesting, because we’ve been adding musicians here and there and it’s been growing up until the point where we are going to perform it, and every time we add that other little element in there it really brings it together.”

The show is named after a lyric from “Eclipse,” the last song on “The Dark Side of the Moon.” Brauer said the lyric is one of his favorites on the album, and “All That Is Now” fits for a group that hopes to continue and evolve after its inaugural show.

“We’re planning on doing this a few more times, we put a lot of work into it,” Brauer said.

If the show is a success, Brauer said he hopes for it to become an annual event at the Kahilu, but for now, the group will take the show to the Palace Theater in Hilo on New Year’s Eve.

“It’s such a timeless album that we decided this might be something that people can enjoy on the island,” Maher said.

Info: “All That Is Now” will be playing at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Nov. 29 at the Kahilu Theatre. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. To purchase tickets, go to kahilutheatre.org.

Since her first gig in Hilo after landing in Hawaii in 1976, Maggie Herron has enjoyed a high-profile career on the islands as a jazz singer and pianist.

The two-time Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winner has played years-long stints on the Big Island, Lanai and, currently, Oahu. Despite the island-hopping, Herron hasn’t played in Kailua-Kona in almost a decade.

It’s only fitting that an award-winning jazz musician would make her return to the Big Island by playing at the only dedicated jazz venue along Alii Drive. Herron will be performing at Gertrude’s Jazz Bar for the first time at 5 p.m. Sunday with Big Island musicians Paul Lindbergh on tenor saxophone and flute, Greg Shirley on bass and Bruce David on drums.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing old friends,” Herron said. “And saying hello to people on the Big Island I haven’t had the chance to say hello to. I haven’t played in Kona now for eight or nine years, so I’m really looking forward to that.”

Sunday’s performance with the quartet is not just a homecoming for Herron — it’s a reunion as well. Herron played with David and Shirley years ago when she was on the Big Island, but she said she hasn’t worked with either since.

“(David) plays with wonderful dynamics on the drums. I like this particular style of playing, and I encourage him to use nuances and what I call color as well as rhythm and meter,” Herron said. “I haven’t played with (Shirley) for years, so it will be nice to get to play with him again.”

Herron and Sunday’s saxophonist Lindbergh also go way back. The two played together on the Big Island several nights a week for five years, and Lindbergh played on six of the 10 songs on Herron’s first album, “In the Wings.” He also arranged the music on Herron’s original song “Things Will Be Better” from her second album, “Good Thing.”

The quartet will be playing Herron’s original songs, as well as popular jazz, blues and pop songs that the group will play with a “jazz flavor.”

“I love the freedom that you can exercise with jazz,” Herron said. “What jazz means is you’re improvising. When you play a song, you’re not going to play the same song the same way twice.

You go to a different part of your brain for that to happen. It’s elevating, joyful, blissful, challenging and fulfilling.”

Since her last stint in Kailua-Kona, Herron has produced four albums in the last eight years, with her latest released in August. She has also landed a spot at Lewers Lounge in Honolulu, performing there four nights a week.

Herron said she enjoys being on the Big Island, but the eruption of Kilauea in May has kept her away this year, as the vog that covered the island during the eruption was hard on her throat and singing voice. Now that the air is clear, she’s ready for her return to the island.

“I love playing on the outer islands because it’s a little more relaxed,” Herron said. “The audience is relaxed and the audience response is always very upbeat, loving, accepting and appreciative.”

Info: Tickets to Maggie Herron’s performance at Gertrude’s Jazz Bar on Sunday are $20 online and $25 at the door, and can be purchased at brownpapertickets.com.