The following article appeared in the May 13 edition of the KS Maui student news magazine, "Ka Leo o Nā Koa."

Kamehameha Schools Maui's Hawaiian Ensemble was treated to a surprise finish to their three-day performances at the The Best of IBM recognition event at the Grand Wailea, May 1-8 – singing with award-winning performer Idina Menzel.

The choral group was there as an opening act for the event, at which the best employees of IBM were being honored. 

On the first night, the ensemble members had finished their performance when an IBM representative invited them to watch the rest of the entertainment. 

To everyone's surprise, the final singer was Menzel, who wrapped-up by singing “Let It Go.” When she heard the ensemble singing along in the audience, she invited them on stage to sing the final chorus with her.   

“I couldn’t even wrap my head around it because it was just that big of a shock. The second and third nights, it was just fun, like she was just a regular person. She was super down to earth,” senior ensemble member Mahiē Kama said.  

Over the next two nights, students repeated their performances including a duet and tercet with Menzel and freshmen Brennan Mendez and Sariah Mossman. They sang "Take Me or Leave Me" from the musical Rent. 

Kama said that afterwards, Menzel told them, “It was good to sing with you. You guys sound great." 

To view more stories from this magazine issue, go to the publication's digital viewing site. For many more stories from "Ka Leo o Nā Koa," go to www.kaleoonakoa.org.

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