Program of the Inaugural concert of the Hawaii Symphony
Good Day, God!
Thank you for Music, God, Thank You! Thank You, too, for the extraordinary sense of “community” that I experienced this evening at the very first concert of our new Hawaii Symphony. The old Honolulu Symphony was dissolved a few years ago amidst financial stress.
At the concert hall, when the new orchestra was “announced” and walked on stage, the audience, as one, rose to their feet and applauded and applauded and applauded. I had tears in my eyes. The auditorium was sold out, a total surprise to me and my husband Kit, and everyone was so happy to be there — so happy to be welcoming our musicians back.
The feeling lasted as the audience sang the Star Spangled Banner and Hawaii Ponoi, our state anthem. At the end of the concert — as the audience stood and clapped for at least ten minutes — every member of the orchestra was given a lei.
It was an evening to treasure — a tribute to the power and appeal of music — and to the health of our community. Thank You, God, not just for music, but for musicians and for the community leaders who persisted to recreate our symphony. Thank You!
Story teller,
A Moment with God 
I thought you would want to know how inspiring your post has been to this parent of a teenage musician. What more could a parent ask than for a child to grow up to bring “joys of the senses and of the heart,” as you put it, to an entire concert hall full of people. So worth the cost of music lessons, early morning band practice, late night bus rides… Thank you!