This coming Sunday, Georgine Stark will be giving a recital of spirituals in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Black History Month. She will be joined by her husband, violinist Darel Stark and pianist Sachi P. Hirakouji. The program will showcase African-American spirituals arranged by the internationally-renowned pianist, conductor and arranger, Moses Hogan. In a press release, the “audience will be moved by songs that inspire hope, question hate and shout for freedom.”

In my last post, I gave you a little history of the Stark family and how they came to the Lutheran Church of Honolulu. Here’s some more information from their official bios:

Georgine Stark, soprano, a native of Buffalo, New York, recently performed as soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with The Hawaii Symphony Orchestra and mesmerized Honolulu audiences in the Handel Gloria, Mozart Requiem, Mozart Exsultate Jubilate, Bach Mass in B Minor, Bach Cantata 51, Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen and in the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610. She also performed as soloist with members of the Hawaii Symphony in Samuel Barber’s Dover Beach and Ned Rorem’s Mourning Scene.

Georgine received a Master Degree from The Peabody Conservatory and studied voice with Phyllis Bryn-Julson and Sharon Spinetti. She also participated in the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria. Georgine performs in concerts with her husband, Darel, violinist, as “The Stark Duo”, showcasing works written for voice and violin. She enjoys teaching voice at the Iolani School, appearing as background extra in national & international film such as “Jurassic World” and Oliver Stone’s film “Snowden” to be released in 2016. Georgine has also appeared in numerous episodes of “Hawaii Five-O” on the CBS network. In addition to performing on stage and screen Georgine enjoys homeschooling and performing with her two rather talented children.

Georgine just emailed me to say that she has been cast in a local commercial for HEMIC! Itʻs a speaking part, and I canʻt wait to see it! [FYI, HEMIC is a local insurance company which features award-winning, but hilarious television ads! Check out their media library here.]

Acclaimed violinist, violist and violin teacher Darel Stark is concertmaster of both the Bach Chamber Orchestra and the Early Music Hawaii Orchestra. With the Honolulu Symphony for sixteen years, he is associate principal violin of the new Hawaii Symphony. An active chamber musician and soloist, Darel can be found performing in venues throughout Hawaii and the United States.

Darel Stark is a respected Hawaii based violin teacher and chamber music coach. For the past twenty years Darel has coached string quartets and other chamber music at Honolulu’s Iolani School. He is the strings program director at the Honolulu Waldorf School, and teaches private violin and viola lessons in Honolulu.

Hereʻs a sneak video preview of Sundayʻs concert, with Georgine singing “Sometimes I feel like a motherless child,” accompanied by Sachi on piano, and an obbligato violin part added by Darel.