13 Nov 36th Annual Na Mele o Maui Song Competition Celebrates the Golden Age of Hawaiian Music with Songs from the 1930s & 1940s

KAANAPALI, MAUI, Hawaii — The 36th Annual Na Mele O Maui Song Competition is scheduled to take place at the Hyatt Regency Maui Hotel & Spa in Ka‘anapali Beach Resort, Thursday, November 20, from 9:00 a.m. – 2 p.m. Sponsored by Ka?anapali Beach Resort Association, Maui’s only county wide Hawaiian song competition is dedicated to cultural preservation and perpetuation of Hawaiian language and arts. This year’s theme, The Golden Age of Hawaiian Music, honors songs of the 1930s and 1940s when Boat Days, modern hula, the Kodak Hula Show, and radio broadcasts dominated the island scene. Some prolific composers during this period included Alice Namakelua, John K. Almeida, Sol Hoopi?i, Helen Desha Beamer, Charles

E. King and, of course, Lena Machado.

There are 24 classes from kindergarten to grade twelve in this year’s song competition. Each class is required to perform two songs in Hawaiian. The first is the Contest Song chosen by the committee to fit the year’s theme; there is a different song for each grade division. The second song in the competition is a Choice Song selected by participating classes to reflect the theme. Classroom choirs are judged on musical competence, language proficiency, and interpretation, stage presence and all-around enthusiasm.

Prizes are awarded based on overall scores within grade level divisions. A combination of scores for the two songs determines the winner in each grade division and the overall winner of the entire competition. This year’s song competition judges are: Language Judge is Ku?ulika Karratti, Music Judge is Reiko Fukino; Overall Judge is Punahele Andrade; and two the judges tasked to score class presentation include Carol Fowler, national travel writer and book author from the Bay Area in California, and Laksmi Abraham, President/CPO, Maui United Way.

Commemorative Na Mele O Maui T-shirts are sold at the event with profits going to the scholarship fund. Donations of $2 are requested at the door. Event parking is located at the entrance to Ka?anapali Beach Resort and complimentary intra-resort shuttle service is provided for family and friends.

Na Mele O Maui continues through generous community support from Ka‘anapali Beach Resort Association, The Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa, AKAKU, IslandAir, Maui Soda & Ice Works, Kamehameha Schools Alumni Association, Kamaka Ukulele, Mele Ukulele, Kå’anapali Beach Hotel, and volunteers.

Established in 1972 for the youth of Maui County, Na Mele O Maui strives to foster education and enlightenment of Hawaii’s heritage. In 2002, the event was honored with the prestigious Kahili Award in the Hawai`i Visitors & Convention Bureau’s “Keep It Hawai‘i” annual awards program. Na Mele O Maui helps instill pride in our youth by providing a rare opportunity for many of them to perform in public and compete for excellence with the support of the community For more information, please call the signature sponsor, Ka‘anapali Beach Resort Association, at 808-661-3271.

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