Mourning the passing of a dear friend, choral collaborator and colleague, David Kayner, who died yesterday evening. David was a force of nature, a fierce champion of chant, polyphonic music, and liturgy. He was the driving force behind the creation of Hawai`i Vocal Arts Ensemble, badgering me and Carl Crosier to get on board with it 23 years ago. I will miss his wit and abrasive demeanor, knowing that he was a good man and sincere lover of the choral art. He was one of the three original founders of HVAE, Carl and I being the other two, and he worked tirelessly throughout our early years to secure our non-profit status, funding, and organized neighbor island tours, including to his beloved Kamuela on the Big Island. In his later years, he attended every concert and sang in the Festivals when he could. In the early days, David and I spoke by phone every day, often many times a day, as he pitched programming ideas and we worked on plans for HVAE. His calls, which always began with his signature and slightly salacious Hi, there usually continued with an insult to me or some nasty comments about a colleague, before getting down to business. David suffered no fools, and was irascible, infuriating, and lovable all at once. Our Christmas Concerts this weekend will be dedicated to the memory of David Kayner and Carl Crosier, who both passed away this year. Chorus angelorum te suscipiat.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 08:54:26 +0000
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