(HONOLULU) After 34 years, Gary Hickling bids a fond aloha to Singing and Other Sins, the program that celebrated the art song genre. The final episode will be broadcast on Saturday, April 9 at 5:00pm on HPR-2.
Gary launched HPR’s Great Songs, which became Singing and Other Sins, in 1988. Art song is a genre of music written for voice and piano, typically in the classical music tradition.
Gary worked with vocal experts as co-hosts, including Joan Canfield, Joanna Takagi, Amy Healey, and most recently, Blair Boone-Migura. In 2009, UH Mānoa voice professor Maya Hoover hosted the program, while Gary took a health hiatus. He returned in 2011, renamed the show Singing and Other Sins, and expanded its content to include non-vocal recordings.
Gary says that in retirement, he looks forward to reading through his spouse’s extensive home library, starting with the poetry of William Wordsworth. He also plans to devote more time to researching and appreciating German soprano Lotte Lehmann, a lifelong interest and the subject of his first HPR program.
Gary sends his gratitude to HPR leadership, past and present, and to loyal listeners.
Past episodes of Singing and Other Sins can be accessed online at https://lottelehmannleague.org/singing-sins-archive/.
