For the first time in its 106-year history, Kamehameha Schools’ annual Song Contest will center entirely on honoring its founder, Ke Aliʻi Bernice Pauahi Pākī Bishop.

This year’s theme, Pauahi Nona Ka Lei: Songs Honoring Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, invites audiences to reflect on her enduring legacy from her powerful ancestry to the institutions built in her name. To bring it to life, over 100 Kapālama haumāna came together in a special opportunity to create four original compositions honoring Pauahi. Working alongside esteemed haku mele, students examined primary sources, studied the foundational forms and techniques of composition and examined the princess’ life — all to craft songs rooted in history and ringing with purpose. For the student composers behind this year’s original tunes, the impact of their work became real the first time they heard it sung back to them.

“I got super emotional,” said sophomore Callie Onishi. “It made me feel so hopeful for Song Contest…and it’s just so overwhelming… to get to hear our classmates sing something that we worked so hard on.”

Every note and verse carries layered meaning. For the seniors, that depth begins with an opening ‘oli that grounds their mele in unity.

“It’s my favorite part of the mele because it calls out to all the campuses from here in Kapālama to Maui…and Keaʻau, so that’s really special,” said senior Nazareth Agcaoili.

Beyond arrangement and harmony, haumāna recognize the significance of this year’s theme. Each class grounded its mele in the kahua Pauahi established for her people and as the lyrics trace her story, a steady throughline carries across the melodies: her legacy lives in the decisions this generation makes next.

“There is a particular line that’s really a call to action for anybody listening to the mele,” said junior Timoteo Esene. “That we are the sovereignty — we are the ea — and it really is up to us to continue Pauahi’s wishes in the founding of this school to perpetuate…our Hawaiian culture through whatever we might face.”

On Song Contest night, that message will travel far beyond the arena floor into homes throughout the pae ʻāina and beyond with mele sung for the lāhui and anyone who understands that Pauahi’s vision belongs to her people.

“Whether or not you go to [Kamehameha] schools, we are all pua a Pauahi. We are all the pua of the aliʻi who came before us,” freshman Aria Beazley said. “I just want everyone to feel that reminder of the kuleana that we have as Hawaiians to continue to perpetuate their legacy and… be proud to be Hawaiian.”

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