At the announcement time last Sunday, Pastor Jeff Lilley asked parishioners to support the new Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra by buying tickets to their concerts and said there would be a group of LCHers going to one of the concerts together. A brochure has been printed and is titled “Lutheran Church of Honolulu celebrates the return of the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra!” and includes program information for March, April and May concerts as follows:

Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, March 4, 6
Brahms Piano Concerto, March 22-23
Dvorak’s New World, April 1, 3
Russian Easter & Tchaikovsky’s 5th, April 6-7
Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony, April 22, 24
Rodrigo’s Guitar Concerto, May 4-6
Dvorak’s Cello Concerto, May 13, 15
Pictures at an Exhibition, May 19-20

(Complete program information can be found at the Hawai’i Symphony website.) I ask you, What other church would go to such lengths to support another arts organization?!

The fact is that the Lutheran Church of Honolulu and a symphony orchestra in Hawaii have been entwined from the beginning and share a long history. That’s because Henri Berger (1844-1929), the bandmaster from Prussia who came to Hawaii and was the leader of the Royal Hawaiian Band, was not only a founding member of the Honolulu Symphony — he was also a founding member of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu in 1900. Plus, he was also the church organist and advised church members on options for purchasing a pipe organ from Germany. Berger was the composer of Hawaii’s state anthem, “Hawai’i Pono’i.”

Later it was LCH organist Erich Kahl who also played first violin in the Honolulu Symphony and presented musical evenings with his wife, Emma, a singer. See my previous post on the history of the LCH music program by clicking here.

I also have written about the many symphony musicians who not only played concerts at LCH but found this place to be their spiritual home, and have attended services without being contracted to play. The list includes Tod Bowermaster (horn), Cynthia Brown Bowermaster (violin), Elizabeth Hare (orchestra manager), Anthony Kniffen (tuba), Bruce Henniss (horn), Jeannie Henniss (horn), Gregory Dubay (cello), Janet Dubay (violin), Connie Uejio(harp), Ann Lillya (oboe), Jason Lichtenwalter (oboe), Eric Mathis (trombone),Wade Butin (horn), Laurilyn Butin (violin), Michael Gorman (double bass), Anna Womack (viola), Darel Stark (violin), Marsha Schweitzer (bassoon), Mark Butin(viola), and Claire Starz Butin (flute).

No wonder we have so many close ties with the Symphony musicians! So please do support the return of the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra by stopping by the box office of the Hawai’i Opera Theatre, phone 596-7858, or downloading the ticket order form by clicking here.

We’ve bought our tickets — have you bought yours yet?