The current Consort singers

There are currently twelve active members in the Waimea Consort. They are seen in the picture above, taken at the end of a rehearsal on Wed August 11, 2010, after a couple of hours working on songs about food (and drinks) for the 2010 Sep 4 & 5 concerts.

From left to right:
  • Dana Tomasino (soprano)
  • Meg Sibley (soprano)
  • Edie Kawai (soprano)
  • Kikuko Kibe (alto)
  • Alexandra Bernstein (alto)
  • Carole Chillingworth (alto)
  • Carolyne Riley (alto)
  • Mike Wallace (tenor)
  • Peter Gregg (basse)
  • Josh Yang (tenor)
  • Steve Kaplan (basse)
  • Russell Flack (tenor)

    • Alexandra, Edie, and Peter are the three singers who have been with the Consort since its creation in the fall of 1998.

    The current Director

    Christian Veillet has been the Director of the Consort since he founded it in the fall of 1998.

    Christian studied the violin when in Middle and High School, but moved to wind instruments (flute and recorders), playing baroque music and singing in baroque ensembles in his college and grad school years. Once in Grasse, he created a small choir for the Eglise réformée de Grasse.

    Christian crossed (too) briefly path with     Maurice Bourbon, a former scientist who dedicated himself full-time to singing and choral direction. From Maurice, he discovered the beauty of the polyphonic vocal repertoire of the Renaissance and the exigencies of its interpretation.

    Christian came from France to Waimea in 1996 to join the scientific staff of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope as resident astronomer. After a couple of years looking around for opportunities to sing, he did not find in the Waimea area a group singing the kind of music he wanted to perform. He decided to create the Waimea Consort with a group of local singers ready to give a try at a cappella vocal pieces from the early days of polyphony to Poulenc, Milhaud or contemporary composers...

    Christian recently started to play the recorder again. He plays baroque music and occasionally sings with local musicians. Bach is one of his favorite composers.