Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 7, 1 July 2013 — A tribute to Iz [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A tribute to Iz

By Lisa Asato f you ean catch the Royal Hawaiian Band at one of its 300-plus performances a year,

chances are you'll hear its new arrangement of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole songs. The string of songs, including favorites like "Hawai'i '78," "White Sandy Beach of Hawai'i," "Henehene Kou 'Aka" and "Somewhere over the Rainbow" - were arranged by Matt Catingub, former principal conductor of the Honolulu Symphony Pops who will serve as artistic director of the Hawai'i Pops when it debuts in September. Catingub was commissioned for the arrangement by the Friends of the Royal Hawaiian Band. The ehoiee of just

whose music to feature in the arrangement was left up to the band, whose members voted for Kamakawiwo'ole. Kamakawiwo'ole's death in 1997 at 38 years old hasn't curtailed his popularity. He's heeome known world over for songs that have graced vari-

ous feature films like Brad Pitt's "Meet Joe Black" and particularly for his alhum Facing Future - whieh sold more than one million copies and this year marks two decades since its release. Speaking by phone from Las Vegas earlier this year, Catingub says he "unfortunately never hadthe pleasure" of meeting Kamakawiwo'ole but considers himself a fan. "When he was

having all his hits, I was living on the mainland," Catingub said. "Like everybody else who discovered his voice and everything he was about, I heeame an instant fan."

The lasting popularity of Kamakawiwo'ole's songs is a result of powerful lyrics and musicality, Catingub says - traits that lend themselves to an arrangement. The challenge, he said, was arranging it specifically for a concert band. "Concert band has its own strengths and weaknesses as opposed to a symphony orchestra, whieh has a lot of strings. You're able to

give it a lot of padding with the strings and the lushness of it. With a band with wind instruments, you ean only play the instruments so long." How does he think the arrangement turned out? "I was quite happy with it," says Catingub, who wrote the arrangement at home on his Macintosh computer. If an emotional reaction to the arrangement ean be taken as a good sign, then Kamakawiwo'ole's widow, Marlene, is happy with the result as well. She was moved to tears at its debut in March, when the band played it for the

Friends of the Royal Hawaiian Band and other invited guests at the Queen Emma Summer Palaee. The Royal Hawaiian Band performs free concerts on Fridays at 'Iolani Palaee near the coronation pavilion from noon to 1 p.m. ■

Like everybody else who discovered his voice and everything he was about, I became an instant fan." — Matt CsLtingub

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Maft Catingub, right, has wriften an arrangement of songs by lsrael Kamakawiwo'ole for the Royal Hawaiian Band. - Courtesy photos