Join us for our last Advent Concert of 2017 at St. John’s as we enjoy the music of Hawaii, with George (Keoki) and Nancy Sereno, on December 17th. They will also serenade us with some Hawaiian Christmas music! The concert begins at 4 pm.
The concert will be followed by refreshments and a time to visit with our guest artists, family and friends.
Keoki Sereno was born in Hawaii and grew up on both Oahu and Maui. Keoki’s tutu kanes (grandfathers) were from Madeira, Portugal and were pure Portuguese, while his maternal grandmother was of mixed races, producing a “poi dog” (Heinz 57) breed of grandson. As with many others of Hawaiian descent, he has a strong sense of place, with Maui being the place where his roots reside.
There are three Portuguese credited with the development of the ukulele in Hawaii (circa 1887): Augusto Dias, Manuel Nunes, and Jose do Espirito Santo. All originated in Madeira, so Keoki’s roots are closely related to the ukulele.
Keoki has played with, and continues to play with, multiple Hawaiian style bands in and around Arizona. Nancy, his wife of 50 years, accompanies him on her ukulele and sings many beautiful melodies.
Keoki and Nancy often perform with his band known as the Poke Bowls, which is a sub-group of the Prescott Ukulele Guild. (Poke is a raw fish salad served as an appetizer in Hawaiian cuisine, and sometimes as a main course.) Mixing music and food is a long-standing Hawaiian tradition. The Pike Bowls perform a mix of older and new age Hawaiian music, contemporary equatorial music, jazz, blues and various other popular music styles. Many of the Hawaiian songs include Hawaiian language melodies and “hapa” songs (English lyrics put to Hawaiian style tunes).
This is the 8th year that St. John’s has opened its doors with four free Advent concerts for the Williams community (young and old and everyone in-between), its visitors, and the region.