Artistic Director/Choreographer:
Nadari Hockenhull
Nadari Hockenhull brings a rich and diverse background to the Kona Glee Club. She is a Neo-Classical Vocal Artist, Educator, Choreographer, and Holistic Vocal Therapist. She is known for her seamless cross-over between musical genres—ranging from operatic to R&B style. In addition to her vocal expertise, Nadari is a seasoned choreographer in ballet, jazz, and hip hop, integrating expressive movement and stage artistry into her musical leadership. Her unique ability to blend vocal excellence with dynamic stage direction allows her to craft performances that are both emotionally resonant and visually compelling.
Before relocating to Hawaiʻi, Nadari was a Professor of Voice at AMDA College and Conservatory of the Performing Arts in Los Angeles, where she trained aspiring performers in multi-genre vocal performance, stage presence, and audition preparation. She began her educational journey teaching general music and the performing arts at Schools across California and Arizona, where she cultivated a love for music and the arts. She has also released several albums and has a thriving Vocal Therapy practice that combines private voice study, sound therapy, and emotional healing work.
Nadari’s career as a performing artist includes a solo performance at Carnegie Hall in tribute to opera legend Kathleen Battle, and a featured role in Graffiti Blues, a rap-opera based on Romeo and Juliet performed at the Inaugural Ball for President Bill Clinton. She was awarded 2nd place in the Metropolitan Opera Regional Competition, toured with the Houston Grand Opera’s production of Porgy and Bess, and studied in Austria with the Tyrolean Opera Program, further enriching her vocal training and international artistic perspective. Most recently, Nadari was honored as a 2025 Hawaiian Idol Finalist, a statewide recognition of her vocal artistry, passion, and ability to move audiences through authentic and powerful performances.
She currently teaches at Kealakehe High School and serves as a Performer and Board Member with the Kona Choral Society. She is a Worship Leader at the Kona International Christian Church, where her gifts of inspiration, encouragement, and musical leadership uplift the community. As an advocate for arts education and accessibility, she has also served as a teaching artist with the Arizona, Los Angeles, and Houston Operas, where she worked to expose youth and underserved communities to the world of opera and live performance.
Music Director:
Irminsul
IRMINSUL is an award winning composer and performer, a native of the state of Utah (USA) and has also lived in Colorado, Vermont, Virgina, and New York as well as in Japan and China and has been a resident of the Big Island for many years.
Playing piano from the age of six, he was largely self trained - learning his earliest performance pieces by listening to LPs borrowed from the library by a relative. In Junior High School he excelled as accompanist to choirs and madrigal groups, as well as in solo piano. His first performed original piece was an Easter Cantata, written for a local church, at age 16. By his late teens, Irminsul began his experimentation with bands of many genres, including prog-rock, punk, heavy metal, early electronic, industrial, hardcore, techno, trance, celtic folk, and world fusion.
At age 34, he took up the celtic harp, again self trained, and quickly gained prominence in performing and composing for the instrument. He played with well known Celtic acts such as Idlewild and Stonecircle, recording several albums with both bands. At that time he vigorously played the festival and small concert circuit, and performed on more than one movie soundtrack. Later fusing the harp with his electronic expertise, Irminsul branched out to other music treatments - from dramatic to commissioned works, and began fusing music forms from other cultures and time periods into current projects.
Irminsul won the 2011 Big Island Music Awards for his compositions of "Lavender Candle" and Ke Io" (Octet in Ab, op. 34), and for his work on the album "Archangel" (Anela Strings). Currently, Irminsul divides his time between composing for piano and strings, performing his story/song shows and spending time with his wife, their cats, and a lanai full of wild birds.
Piano Accompanist:
Vaina Barton
Vaina Barton is from the beautiful island of Tahiti. After high school, she attended BYU-Hawaii and graduated with a Bachelor of Art degree in Piano Pedagogy. In college, she met her husband, a local Hawaiian boy. They are raising three amazing boys and one sweet girl in Kona where she divides her time between composing, teaching piano, photography, baking, crafting and other artistic pursuits. She loves music and recently wrote, from her heart, a collection of beautiful compositions.
