This mele was written by Keola Donaghy for his niece, Valerie Danielle Ku‘uleihaukeaokapiliaumoe Kramin, with music composed and produced by Kenneth Makuakāne, and as performed by the late O'Brien Eselu.

Legacy

Ku‘uleihaukeaokapiliaumoe

Written for Keauhou, Ka‘ū on Hawai‘i island. Mele composed by Keola Donaghy with music and musical performance by Kenneth Makuakāne. It was written for the 2011 Kamehameha Schools Song Contest, performed by the Senior Girls, who won the Women's Division and also tied for first for their Hawaiian language performance.

Nona Ke Mele

Aloha Keauhou

I am an Assistant Professor of Music at University of Hawai‘i Maui College, and coordinate the Institute of Hawaiian Music program, a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (in the Pacific Northwest chapter), and a member of the Board of Governors of the Hawai‘i Academy of Recording Arts (“Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards”).

I have approximately 200 mele (Hawaiian language poetry or songs) to me credit; many were co-written with my frequent collaborator and unindicted co-conspirator Kenneth Makuakāne I co-wrote most of the Hawaiian language songs and was assistant producer of Kenneth's solo Hawaiian releases Makuakane and Kawaipono. I was honored to have a Christmas song I wrote, "Ke Aloha Kalikimaka" recorded by Keali‘i Reichel on his Christmas release, Maluhia. My composition "Nā Hōkū Pio ‘Ole" was selected as the theme song for the 30th anniversary Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards. Some of my other compositions have been recorded by Kainani Kahaunaele, the De Lima ‘Ohana, Mailani Makainai, The Pandanus Club, Amy Hānaiali‘i, Amy and Willie, Steven Espaniola and O’Brien Eselu. I also have credits as a producer, engineer, graphics artist, and liner-note annotator, and was awarded the 2016 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award for Compilation Album of the Year as producer of the compilation “Aloha ‘Ia Nō ‘O Maui” which features Hawaiian music recorded by my UH Maui College students.

I love to work the fringes of Hawaiian music by combining Hawaiian language lyrics with musical styles which are not often used to accompany Hawaiian music. You'll hear some of the fruits of this work in the near future. I also enjoy contributing mele to worthwhile projects and causes. I contributed lyrics and composed a short chant for a song that was created for the the American Lung Association of Hawai‘i’s “Breathe” concert in 2007. Kenneth and I have also collaborated on an alma mater for Kua O Ka Lā public charter school in Puna, Hawai‘i, a song for the Volcano National Park's “Junior Ranger” program, and our collaboration “Holo Paikikala” was used in a video to promote bicycling as an alternative form of transportation. Nothing motivates me more or gives me greater satisfaction than knowing our music is used for such worthwhile endeavors.

I attended Kīhei Elementary and St. Anthony High School on Maui. Our family moved to Hilo in 1994 when I enrolled at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo. I received a Bachelor of Arts in Hawaiian Studies in 1999, and Master of Arts in Hawaiian Language and Literature in 2003. I received a Ph.d in Music (Ethnomusicology) from the University of Otago in Aotearoa (New Zealand), where my wife and I spent six months during 2008.

Keola Donaghy

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