Park Offers Free Hawaiian Music Songwriting Retreat

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Date: July 16, 2014
Contact: Jessica Ferracane, 808-985-6018

Kaliko
Kaliko Trapp-Beamer

Courtesy photo

Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park is offering a two-day Hawaiian music songwriting retreat for beginners on Saturday, August 16 and Sunday, August 17. Hawaiian music, language and haku mele (Hawaiian song) experts Kenneth Makuakāne and Kaliko Trapp-Beamer will lead the workshops.

Both workshops run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and will be held at the park's Education Center. Advance registration is required. To register, call (808) 985-6166. Leave your name, email address, and best contact number no later than August 8. Space is limited. The park will contact you by email to confirm your reservation.   

The retreat will be held in the park at the summit of Kīlauea. Budding songwriters will find inspiration in this wahi kapu (sacred place), among the towering koa and 'ōhi'a lehua trees, over fields of ropy pāhoehoe lava, and in the awe-inspiring eruptive glow from Halema'uma'u Crater. 

Also inspirational are the retreat's accomplished teachers. Kenneth Makuakāne is a multiple Nā Hōkū Hanohano award winner, along with his group, The Pandanus Club. He's a prolific songwriter (1,500-plus songs), producer of more than 100 albums, and collaborator who has worked with virtually all of the stars of Hawaiian music over the years.

Kaliko was raised as the hānai son of Hawaiian cultural expert Aunty Nona Beamer (1923-2008), learning Hawaiian chant, storytelling, traditional protocol, family songs, and stories. He currently teaches Hawaiian language courses at the University of Hawai'i in Hilo, and helps coordinate the Beamer Family Aloha Music Camp. He is the President of the Mohala Hou Foundation dedicated to "preserve and perpetuate Hawaiian culture through education and the arts."

The two-day Hawaiian songwriting retreat is sponsored by Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park and Hawai'i Pacific Parks Association. Park entrance fees apply.    



 
Kenneth Makuakane_688
Kenneth Makuakāne-Jarrell

Courtesy photo

Last updated: February 28, 2015

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P.O. Box 52
Hawaii National Park, HI 96718

Phone:

808 985-6011

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