Voces8 performs "Devotions" concert at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu

VOCES8 Brings World-Class Choral Performance to the Lutheran Church of Honolulu

In a recent essay, a former parishioner detailed the unexpected arrival of the internationally acclaimed British vocal ensemble VOCES8 for a live afternoon performance at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu. Sponsored by the Hawaii Chamber Music Festival, the concert brought the 2026 Opus Klassik winner and 2023 Grammy-nominated British vocal ensemble into the church’s nave before a full house.

The program, titled “Devotions,” featured an entirely sacred a cappella repertoire spanning centuries of choral composition. The afternoon opened with Mozart’s String Quintet No. 2 in C minor, performed by two student musicians alongside professionals from the Hawaii Chamber Music Festival, including Moni Simeonov, Jayden Kim, Yuseon Nam, Ethan Camp, and Sung Chan Chang. Following the instrumental opening, VOCES8 took the stage to deliver a balanced, tightly blended vocal performance.

Inside the “Devotions” Concert Program

The concert featured a diverse selection of sacred works by both classical and contemporary composers. The performance list included Orlando Gibbons’s O clap your hands, Benjamin Britten’s A hymn to the virgin, Thomas Tallis’s God, grant with grace, Arvo Pärt’s The Deer’s Cry, and Stephen Paulus’s Pilgrim’s Hymn. Listeners also heard Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Bogoroditse devo, Felix Mendelssohn’s Richte mich, Gott, Caroline Shaw’s and the swallow, Tomás Luis de Victoria’s Regina Caeli, Kate Rusby’s Underneath the stars, the traditional spiritual Steal Away arranged by David Blackwell, and Gustav Holst’s Nunc dimittis.

The essay author noted that the performance of Arvo Pärt’s The Deer’s Cry proved to be an unforgettable, otherworldly experience. Several pieces on the program carried deep personal resonance for the writer, who recalled performing Gibbons’s opening anthem with the church choir under the direction of her late husband, Carl.

VOCES8 Hawai’i premiere 11/5/26

A Long-Awaited Performance in the Islands

The author recounted a previous encounter with the ensemble during a 2019 trip to England, where she attended a VOCES8 concert at Cadogan Hall. During that visit, she spoke with Barnaby Smith and expressed a hope that the group would one day perform in Hawaii. Years later, that aspiration materialized as the ensemble stopped in Hawaii during an international tour that spans the U.S. mainland and upcoming dates in Asia.

Marking her third live experience hearing the group—having previously attended a performance at the Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester last July alongside Bill Potter—the writer observed the ensemble’s characteristic physical stillness and precise vocal balance. Due to a scheduling conflict requiring her to play the Vigil Mass at St. Mark’s, the author departed before the final piece, though she noted the audience received an encore performance of Fly me to the moon.