The Langley Ukulele Ensemble is a

ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...

ensemble from

Langley, British Columbia The City of Langley, commonly referred to as Langley City, or just Langley, is a municipality in the Metro Vancouver Regional District in British Columbia, Canada. It lies directly east of Surrey, adjacent to the Cloverdale area, and is surroun ...

in Canada. The ensemble is internationally renowned and considered to be one of the top ukulele performing ensembles in the world. They were prominently featured in the 2008 award-winning document film,

Mighty Uke ''Mighty Uke: The Amazing Comeback of a Musical Underdog'' (released 2010) is a documentary film about the ukulele. It combines graphics, photographs, interviews and performance footage to tell the story of the ukulele and its recent resurgence in ...

. The group is composed of 20 musicians, aged twelve to eighteen years, who perform 50-80 concerts a year. The group was originated in 1981 by Peter Loungo using the J. Chalmers Doane's musical program in the 1970s that reached over 50,000 students across Canada and the United States. They have performed in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, Nevada, the

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Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. The ensemble was named Langley's Entertainer of the Year for 2005, and Musical Director Peter Luongo was named Langley's Leader of the Year for that same year.

Tours

Since 1985, the Ensemble has been traveling to

every July as part of their annual tour. During their stay there, they are sponsored by the Sheraton Waikiki. In addition to performances at the hotel, they play at schools and Rotary Clubs in Hawaii. In summer 2007, the Ensemble participated in the

Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo The Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo is a show inspired by Military Tattoos given by military bands and display teams. It has taken place annually in the capital of Nova Scotia, Halifax since 1979. It is currently held in the Halifax Scot ...

in Halifax, and opened at the

Stratford, Ontario Stratford is a city on the Avon River (Ontario), Avon River within Perth County, Ontario, Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, with a 2021 Canadian census, 2021 population of 33,232 in a land area of . Stratford is the County seat, s ...

Summer Music Festival. In 2013 they were invited back and performed once again at the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo. In addition to their annual tour to Hawaii, in October 2009 they were the headline performers at the 3rd International Ukulele Ceilidh in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, Canada. In 2015 they paid a return visit to perform on the River Avon at the Stratford Summer Music Festival, and then traveled to perform on the International Stage at the

Canadian National Exhibition The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual fair that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Labour Day (Canada), ...

in Toronto. The Langley Ukulele Ensemble is one of the featured groups in ''Mighty Uke: The Amazing Comeback of an Underdog''. The documentary includes following the ensemble on their annual Hawaiian trip. Peter Luongo has been replaced by his son, Paul Luongo, as the musical director of the Ensemble upon Peter's retirement in 2013. Paul is an alumnus of the Ensemble.

Alumni

Alumni of the Langley Ukulele Ensemble include James Hill, who pursued a career as a solo artist and was described by

Stuart McLean Andrew Stuart McLean, (April 19, 1948 – February 15, 2017) was a Canadian radio broadcaster, humorist, monologist, and author, best known as the host of the CBC Radio program '' The Vinyl Cafe''.Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

as the "Wayne Gretzky of Ukulele".{{cite book, last=Tranquada, first=Jim, title=The Ukulele: A History, year=2012, publisher=University of Hawaii Press, isbn=978-0-8248-3634-4, page=161 Other alumni include Paul Luongo (the ensemble's current director), Elizabeth Zielke (former director of the junior ensembles), and acoustic group Exit 58. The alumni continue to meet and perform together under the direction of Peter Luongo.

Discography

The Ensemble has released fourteen recordings on CD, some of which are sung in the Hawaiian language. Musical styles include Classical, Jazz, Gospel, Rock and Roll and international music. * Langley Our Home, Precision Sound (1998) ASIN: B0000C1W2R * Our Hawaiian Heart, Precision Sound (1999) ASIN: B0000C1W2S * 20th Anniversary Commemorative Edition Ukulele Family Album (2000) * I'll Be Home For Christmas (2000) * The Enchanted Ukulele, Precision Sound (2000) ASIN: B0000C1W2U * Cruisin' Ukuleles, Precision Sound (2001) ASIN: B0000C1W2W * Ukulele: The Legend Continues, (2002) ASIN: B0000C1W2X * The Pacific Ukulele Connection, (2004) ASIN: B0002EXKHE * Strings Attached (2004) * 25th Anniversary Ukulele Celebration (2005) * Ukulele Christmas (2005) * Our Hawaiian Heart Anniversary Edition (2009) * Langley Ukulele - Live in Concert DVD (2010) * Ukulele Rock 'n Roll Review (2013)

References

External links

Langley Ukulele Ensemble
official website
James Hill
Mandolin orchestras Musical groups established in 1980 Musical groups from British Columbia Canadian ukulele players 1980 establishments in British Columbia