Haili Church Choir was established in 1902, and is affiliated with Haili Church in Hilo, on the island of Hawaii, in the U.S. state of Hawaii. In 2001, the choir was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in recognition of its promoting and developing music endemic to the Hawaiian culture. Several members of the choir have gone on to achieve commercial and cultural success in the genre of Hawaiian music.
The choir was begun in 1902 by local Hilo music teacher Harry K. Naope Sr. For the indigenous population, belonging to a church choir was a natural extension of the musical culture and training that was part of the Hawaiian home life. In the Hawaiian language, the term mele denotes both ancient chants and also songs. [1] With limited resources and no hymn books to rely on, Naope improvised by copying the individual meles, which he translated from English into the Hawaiian language, onto a single piece of paper tacked up on the walls. Choir members committed the meles to memory. Haili differed from the old missionary choirs in that Naope incorporated secular meles into the choir's repertoire. The choir became known for its a cappella style, developed of necessity in the early days of sporadic instrumental accompaniment. [2]
The choir was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 2001. Credited with being a nurturing and influential environment for Hawaiian culture and music, the choir has produced many accomplished artists, some of whom are also inductees of the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame. [3]
Thomas Kihei Desha Brown (1925–1978) was an established band leader and falsetto singer who received his early training in the choir. Composer Albert Po'ai Nahale-a Sr (1910–1970) had been one of the choir's ministers of music. Recording artist Anuhea Audrey Brown (born 1922) was the choir's piano accompanist for two decades, beginning in the 1940s. [4] Falsetto vocalist George Kainapau (1905–1992), who made his first recording in 1929 with Sol Hoʻopiʻi and Andy Iona, also received his early training in the choir. [5]
Coloratura soprano Helen Desha Beamer (1882–1952) had served as the church organist. Beamer herself was the matriarch of a family that produced celebrated performers in Hawaiian music. Hall of fame falsetto singer Mahi Beamer (1929–) is her grandson, while her granddaughter is "Auntie Nona" Winona Beamer . Brothers Keola Beamer and Kapono Beamer are her great-grandsons. [6]
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Helen Kapuailohia Desha Beamer was a musician, composer of songs in the Hawaiian language, hula dancer and coloratura soprano of Hawaiian ancestry. Her descendants have also become accomplished artists in the U.S. state of Hawaii. In 1928, her duet of "Ke Kali Nei Au" with Sam Kapu Sr. on Columbia Records was the first commercial recording of the Charles E. King composition. She was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 1995.
Edwin Mahiʻai (Mahi) Copp Beamer was a tenor falsetto singer, composer and hula dancer of Hawaiian ancestry. He was born in Honolulu in the Territory of Hawaii and is the grandson of Helen Desha Beamer. His father, Milton Hoʻolulu Desha Beamer Sr. was her son. Mahi's mother was Mildred Kaaloehukaiopuaena Copp Beamer. In 2006, Mahi Beamer was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame. He was named a "Living Treasure of Hawaii" in 2008 by the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii, which has been recognizing Hawaii's treasures since 1976. He received the 1992 State of Hawaii Recognition Award for his musical contributions to the state and for perpetuating his grandmother's music. Beamer was the 1993 recipient of the David Malo award presented by Rotary International for his cultural contributions.
Winona Kapuailohiamanonokalani Desha Beamer was a champion of authentic and ancient Hawaiian culture, publishing many books, musical scores, as well as audio and video recordings on the subject. In her home state, she was known as Auntie Nona. She was an early proponent of the ancient form of the hula being perpetuated through teaching and public performances. Beamer was the granddaughter of Helen Desha Beamer. A cousin to Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame inductee Mahi Beamer, she teamed with him and her cousin Keola to form a touring North American troupe performing ancient hula and the Hawaiian art of storytelling. She was a teacher at Kamehameha Schools for almost 40 years, but had been expelled from that same school as a student in 1937 for dancing the standing hula. Beamer's sons Keola and Kapono are established performers in the Hawaiian music scene. Her grandson Kamanamaikalani Beamer is a professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and CEO of the Kohala Center. She ran a Waikiki hula studio for three decades. In 1997—indignant at proposals to cut Hawaiian curriculum from Kamehameha Schools—Beamer became the catalyst for public protest and legal investigation into Bishop Estate management, which eventually led to the removal or resignation of the trustees.
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