Nola Nahulu -
Executive & Artistic Director

Ms. Nahulu is a native of Makaha, O’ahu and received her education from: Wai’anae Elementary School, Kamehameha Schools, Whitman College (B.A. Psychology), and University of Hawai’i Manoa (M.A. in Music Education, Choral).

Ms. Nahulu has been involved in the Choral Music scene of Hawai’i since 1979. The organizations she has been associated with have included the Unitarian Church, Bishop Memorial Church, Moloka’i Children’s Chorus and the Kamehameha Alumni Glee Club. She is currently the interim Director of the Honolulu Symphony Chorus and Director of Hawai’i Youth Opera Chorus (Executive and Artistic Director), The Kawaiaha’o Church Choir, Hawai’i Opera Theater Chorus, and the Pearl Harbor Hawaiian Civic Club. She is the founder and director of the Kawaiolaonapukanileo ensemble (an ensemble dedicated to the preservation of the hawaiian choral music genere).

Her teaching endeavors have included: Our Redeemer Lutheran School, the Kamehameha Schools, the University Laboratory School, and lecturer at UH Manoa Music Department.

Ms. Nahulu became Musical Director for the Hawai’i Youth Opera Chorus in 1986. Since then the chorus has grown from twenty singers to over 195 children grades K-12. The focus of the organization is that of Music Education. There are eight graded ensembles as well as choral conducting internships available for high school and college students and other teachers.

Ms. Nahulu is a member of HMEA (Hawai’i Music Educator’s Association), Treasurer for SGM (Society for General Music) and is presently the President for ADCA (American Choral Director’s Association) Hawai’i Chapter.
Malia Ka’ai-Barrett - General Manager

Malia Katrina Kana’auao Ka’ai, a native of Lahaina Maui. Graduate of the Kamehameha Schools class of ’85. Graduate of Whitworth College in ’89 with a B.A. in History and a Minor in Music. Graduate of UH Manoa in ’98 with a M.A. in Pacific Island Studies.

Since 1991 she has been the General Manager of the Hawaii Youth Opera Chorus. Ms. Ka’ai is an active soloist and choral member in the community, performing with the Hawaii Opera Theater, Kawaiolaonapukanileo (a Hawaiian a capella ensemble, dedicated to preserving Hawaiian choral music genre) and Kawaiaha’o Church etc. Her vocal instructors include: Les Ceballos, Ann Fennesey-Rants of Whitworth College, Neva Rego and Elizabeth Grierson of the Bel Canto School of Singing in Honolulu. She has participated in numerous master classes and workshops with world renown opera singers and coaches: Denise Graves, Diana Soviero, Frederika von Stade, Mary Dibbern, Bernard Uzon, Mark Flint, Ying Yuang, the San Francisco Opera Merola Program and Richard Perlman of the Chicago Lyric Opera etc.
She is a member of Hawaii Opera Theater’s Chorus since 1993 and the Young Artist Mae Z. Orvis Opera Studio since 1998. Her solo debut with the Hawaii Opera Theater was as the 2nd handmaiden in the 1999 production of “Electra”. Since then she has appeared with HOT as the Mother in “Madama Butterfly”, Olga in “The Merrie Widdow”, Mrs. Hayes in “Susannah”, as the Prima Cercatrice in “Suor Angelia” and as Ciesca in “Gianni Schicchi”. In 2000 she was a finalist with the Hawaii Public Radio 4th Annual Art Song Contest. She has also sung with the Honolulu Symphony as a soloist for Grieg’s “Peer Gynt”, Mendohlson’s “Mid Summer Nights’s Dream” & Rutter’s “Mass of the Children”. She was a soloist with the Hawaii presentation of Mozart Requiem in September 2002 in commemoration of the 9/11 events. She has also sung the soprano solos for the following Requiems that were presented by Kawaiaha’o Church including: Faure, Brahms and Rutter. She was the soprano soloist for Hawaii premier of Rutter’s “Mass of the Children”. Her debut as soprano soloist with the Royal Hawaiian Band was in 2005.