There are voices that command you to listen with your heart as well as your ears.
Kristian Lei — who now makes her home in Hilo — possesses that type of vocal instrument.
A singer-actress on the world stage since her late teens, Lei will bring her mix of vocal virtuosity and local-girl accessibility to the stage of downtown Hilo’s Palace Theater on Saturday with her “Dreams of the Heart” concert.
Doors open at 6 p.m. and showtime is 7 p.m. Tickets are $35 general admission, $65 VIP in advance, with a 10% discount for students and veterans, and are available at the Palace box office and online at hilopalace.com. Admission is $5 more the day of the concert.
“Because of my career in musical theater, you’ll get a taste of that — and I’ve got two full-length inspirational albums out,” Lei said.
Her musical theater résumé is impressive. At 19, she was cast in the lead role of Kim in “Miss Saigon” in Stuttgart, Germany.
Next, she was the ingenue, Ti Moune, in the Actor’s Actors Inc. Philippines tour of “Once On This Island.”
Closer to home, she starred as Tuptim alongside Richard Chamberlain as King Mongkut of Siam in Hawaii Opera Theatre’s production of “The King and I.” And she portrayed Princess Nala and Rafiki in the “Festival of the Lion King” at Hong Kong Disneyland.
The Disney connection also includes a star turn as a featured vocalist on Disney Cruise Lines. In 2012, Lei was selected as the featured vocalist for then-Philippine President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III at the Hawaii APEC festivities.
Her voice and understanding of vocal techniques are such that Lei has become a voice coach to the stars. Those who have availed themselves of her services include internationally renowned Hawaii singer-songwriter and slack-key guitar master Makana, who gave Lei an onstage shoutout at a recent Palace performance; and Hollywood actors Zac Efron, Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza. She also teaches voice lessons to students in Hilo and Honolulu.
Lei’s show in Hilo will feature two guest artists. One is Owana Salazar, a two-time Hoku award-winner who also was featured on a pair of Best Hawaiian Music Grammy-winning albums.
“I’ve grown up with her,” said Lei, who was born on the island of Cebu in the Philippines and raised on Oahu. “She’s my mother’s very close friend and she lives here, as well. She’s got a beautiful voice, and she’s coming on board to sing a couple of songs.”
The other guest is Mel Ona, a Honolulu gastroenterologist and a vocal student of Lei’s.
As it turns out, in addition to being one of Hawaii’s top physicians in his specialty, the good doctor possesses a sweet, clear tenor voice.
“He wanted to do an EP with me. I’m so proud of the EP that we made that we released it,” she said.
The title of the recording, which came out this year, is the same as the concert’s.
“We called it ‘Dreams of the Heart’ because this is a reflection of hard work and …what’s in your heart that you want to do instead of not having moved forward,” Lei said. “I hope people leave the theater feeling uplifted and happy.”
The four tracks on the EP are familiar: “The Prayer,” a David Foster/Carole Bayer Sager composition popularized as a duet by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli; “A Million Dreams,” sung by Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams and Ziv Zaifman in “The Greatest Showman” and covered by Pink; “This is the Moment” from the musical “Jekyll &Hyde”; and “You Raised Me Up,” the Josh Groban standard.
Lei also has material to draw on from her inspirational albums, “Take My Hand” and “On a Personal Note.”
In addition to all that, she’s including a special Veterans Day tribute.
“It’s very near and dear to my heart because my father is a Vietnam War vet, and my husband has just retired as a chief warrant officer in the Special Forces as a Green Beret,” Lei said. “I’m a military brat. I just think that I can’t thank our veterans enough for the sacrifices they’ve made for us.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
