Singing along at BILAC’s opening concert.
Iconic festival of liturgical music and art celebrates 40th year with an announcement
By Brother Dennis Schmitz, SM
Special to the Herald
BILAC, Hawaii’s iconic festival of liturgical music and art, this year celebrated its past and stepped confidently into the future.
At the event at Chaminade University and Saint Louis School, Nov. 5-7, the conference marked its 40th birthday and changed its name.
Hula dancer Maelia Loebenstein-Carter.
BILAC stands for Big Island Liturgy and Arts Conference. With the theme “Spirit of Malia” commemorating its origins at that island’s Malia Puka O Kalani Parish, and the Marianist spirituality of its new home on the Kalaepohaku campus of Chaminade and Saint Louis, BILAC joyfully announced its new name — Marianist HILAC.
HILAC stands for Hawaiian Islands Liturgy and Arts Conferences.
In recent years, the conference has added events on Maui (VILAC), West Hawaii Island (WHILAC) and Molokai (MILAC). As a result, the coordinating team of Lori True, Joe Camacho and Marianist Brother Dennis Schmitz decided the time was ripe for a new name for the Oahu conference and an umbrella name for all of the conferences.
The coordinating team decided to run the conferences on alternate years. Maui and West Hawaii events will be on even years, while Oahu and Molokai will have theirs on odd years. WHILAC and VILAC are scheduled for next year March 1-2 and March 3 and 5 respectively.
For its final year as BILAC, the conference featured an all-star collection of great composers of liturgical music. In addition to frequent guest artists like David Haas, Marty Haugen, True, Bobby Fisher and Tony Alonso, this year’s conference added Kate Cuddy, Bob Hurd and Father Michael Joncas.
The celebrations began the night before the opening concert with a welcome prayer service for the out-of-town presenters presented by religious and lay Marianists, and students and friends from the Chaminade Sunday choir. The beautiful service attended by more than 70 people was followed by heavy pupus at the Hale Malia Marianist Community.
The musicians spent the rest of the evening and the next morning in rehearsals for a concert in the packed Mystical Rose Oratory featuring numerous well-known hymns that made their debuts at BILAC.
On Friday, March 6, Saint Louis School’s faculty and LIFE students joined the participants for morning prayer and a keynote address by Hurd’s wife and collaborator, Pia Moriarty, who gave an enlightening presentation on Home Boys Ministry and its spirituality of self-forgiveness as a path to healing.
Following the morning’s workshops was an afternoon concert by three composers, Haas, Haugen and Father Joncas. The three have done concerts together on the Mainland, but it’s believed this was the first time for Hawaii.
Although BILAC is well-known for its music, the workshops had something for everyone —theology, Scripture, lectoring, hooponopono, male spirituality and more. These and more were offered in the afternoon. A meditative Taize-style evening prayer closed the day. The brothers of the Marianist Hall Community treated the presenters to a wonderful meal out on their patio.
The next day opened with a morning prayer lead by True. The Mackey Marianist Lecture followed with Father Joncas reflecting on the “Spirit of Malia” 40 years later and the power of inculturation in the liturgy. After the workshops and lunch, Camacho gave a concert of Hawaiian music with hula by former Miss Aloha Hula, Maelia Loebenstein-Carter.
After more workshops and a beautiful concluding Eucharist presided over by Father Alapaki Kim, pastor of St. Rita Parish in Nanakuli, the conference ended with a luau.
The Marianist lay communities provided a post-convention potluck breakfast Sunday morning at the Marianists’ Hale Malia Community followed by a day of relaxation at the Maryknoll Sisters house in Lanikai. Volunteers from California prepared a tasty Mexican dinner to bring everything to a conclusion.
The next morning Father Joncas, Alonso, Fisher, Paulette Ching and Camacho headed for Molokai for an evening concert at St. Damien Parish in Kaunakakai. Although everyone was tired by the end, there was a spirit of profound happiness thanks to what many were calling the best BILAC since it came to Oahu.
The Marianist HILAC Ohana is now looking forward to March when Father Joncas will return with Jesse Manibusan for WHILAC and VILAC. Information for these events will be available at www.marianistwhilac.wordpress.com and www.marianistvilac.wordpress.com.
