Island School’s ‘We Are Glorious’ Tickets Go on Sale April 10

Join Island School’s three choral ensembles, composed of 110 students in grades 4-12, as they return to the stage at the Kaua’i Community College on Wednesday, April 17 to present their 11^th annual spring concert.

“We are Glorious” is one of the chorus’s most eclectic concerts yet, showcasing folk and gospel songs as well as music from films, Broadway, and pop traditions.

“I started the choral program when I came to Island School in 2006,” said director Philip Steinbacher, “so technically this is our thirteenth year in existence. The first two years, however, we were still sort of a fledgling group, still getting grounded. We sang a few songs here or there at school events or assemblies, but didn’t really give a full scale concert until Christmas of 2008.”

That first concert to a packed audience in Island School’s Main Hall, he said, proved to be a success and they immediately moved to KCC Performing Arts Center for their first spring concert in April 2009.

“We’ve had to perform our last few concerts at local hotels, as the Performing Arts Center at KCC was unavailable. The chorus students and I are so excited to return to our home at KCC,” Steinbacher said.

Music for “We Are Glorious” was selected for its capacity to inspire and uplift.

“Like most directors, I create concerts thematically. The seed for a concert’s theme usually shows up in one particular piece of music I’m listening to or mulling over. I then build the program from there, finding other pieces that support and complement that one piece,” he said.

This concert was built from a piece of music Steinbacher kept listening to while riding his bike; it contains the line “we are glorious” and it instantly moved him.

“It led me to think of other uplifting and inspiring compositions and from there the program grew. If you look — and listen — closely you will see that each piece in the program builds on that idea — that human beings are glorious creatures and that our uniqueness and humanity should be celebrated,” he said.

“We Are Glorious” is accompanied by Rose Alfiler-Taboniar. Tickets are only available online, at https://bit.ly/2OHzaM7 and go on sale at 8 a.m. April 10 for the general public. Patrons are encouraged to purchase tickets promptly as they sell out quickly.