Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 7, 1 July 2011 — Nā Hōkū Hanohano Music Festival inspires future stars [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Nā Hōkū Hanohano Music Festival inspires future stars

By Francine Murray Are stars born or are stars made? On the loeal scene, the Hawai'i Convention Center eame alive with diamonds-in-the-rough spellbound by all the music-industry savvy the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Music Festival had to offer. At the May 27 and 28 workshops, a plethora of talent and information related to the music industry could be had from music theory, composition and vocal training to preparing for the studio, digital music, copyrighting and mueh more. "This year when I designed the workshops, we decided to do everything very themed," explained Pali Ka'aihue, Vice President of the Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts, or HARA. The five workshop themes were the Business of Music, Instrumentation, Extended Study, Hawaiian Language/Haku Mele, and Hula, with workshops going from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both Friday and Saturday. "I'm glad that it went off really well," said Ka'aihue. "And the instructors had a really good time." Presenters and panelists in the workshops included Hawaiian language experts and composers, representatives from some of the biggest manufacturers in music, and icons of the island music industry, like Henry Kapono,

Keali'i Reichel and Grammy winner Cyril Pahinui. "The haku mele workshop was our really big hit. There were just so many people there, and there were five different panelists in the workshop," Ka'aihue said. "People that actually wanted to write their own music, attended. Some brought poetry and they could have it evaluated." A special treat for many attendees was the individualized advice and tips fromprofessionals like Hōkū-award winning songwriter and Associate Professor of Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawai'i, Puakea Nogelmeier, or Kainani Kahaunaele, who would go on to win both the Hawaiian Language Performance and the Haku Mele categories at the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards, whieh followed on Sunday. The two-day workshop on music business covered all the industry essentials and threw in a few modern bonuses. "It is really key for those just starting in the music industry, or even some of the kūpuna that want to do MP3s 'cause that's the way the technology is going. So, we brought down the president of CD Baby, who's like the main guy and how all of us (recording artists) got our music on iTunes," Ka'aihue said. Coordinators also put together some phenomenal musicians that had never met before - bass, drum and guitar virtuosos from the mainland and from Hawai'i so that they

could jam and participate in an improvisation session. After introducing themselves, eaeh took the lead in a song and the others joined in. It was incredible as well as inspiring, a level of talent for many in the audience to aspire to. "We thought that it had something for everyone, and for every different playing level," said Ka'aihue. "Even those that don't play music but want to see great musicianship, this was the plaee to be." H ARA, the nonprofit whieh presents the annual Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards, expanded on the awards show in 2010 with the first-everNā Hōkū Hanohano Music Festival, whieh brings together educational workshops, loeal entertainment, the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Awards and the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards. In 2010 OHA provided HARA a grant of $125,000 in support of the festival, and in 2011 OHA continued its support, providing $100,000 for the festival and workshops to empower Native Hawaiian entrepreneurs involved in music, performance and recording to pursue and achieve business success. "The turnout was mueh better than last year," said Ka'aihue. "Everyone registered in the last three days. It went really well." ■

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Kainani Kahaunaele was among the professionals offering advice at the festival. At the subsequent Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards ceremony on Sunday, Kahaunaele would go on to win two awards in Hawaiian-Language categories. - Photo: Pmeine l/\unay