Faye Nuʻuhiwa stood in front of her classmates, overwhelmed. The sophomore song director had spent weeks trying to lead the women’s cohort in the Kamehameha Schools Song Contest but her usual ways weren’t working. Frustrated, she withdrew, feeling defeated even before competition night.
Breaking down in tears during rehearsal was actually the breakthrough the girls needed to come together.
“I started bawling,” Nuʻuhiwa said. “But I think that’s when me and my girls connected. They saw me as a person and wanted to do their best for me. Then it became I’ll do what I can for the girls and they’ll do what they can for me.”
Now a senior, Nuʻuhiwa prepares to take the podium one last time when Song Contest returns to the Neal S. Blaisdell Center on March 14 at 6:30 p.m. The annual event tests the discipline, resilience and leadership of these young ʻōiwi, as they carry forward a legacy of mele that has bound the lāhui together for generations.
This year’s theme, E Kipa, E Nanea, E Hoʻolaukanaka, celebrates the essence of Hawaiian hospitality. Each mele honors the warmth and aloha of gathering, whether among friends, family or honored guests.
“Hoʻokipa is a part of who we are as Kānaka and as a people in our communities,” said Alika Young KSK'03, Kapālama’s performing arts director. “This year’s theme is really about having a wonderful time as the manaʻo and moʻolelo of these 10 mele live again through the voices of our keiki.”
Preparations for Song Contest begin a year in advance, from selecting mele to rigorous rehearsals that refine tone, pitch and movement. For Nuʻuhiwa, the experience is more than a competition – it’s about the power of coming together.
“I’ve been at KS since kindergarten. This is home. Singing brings me home, too, and I find my sense of community when I am singing with my friends,” Nuʻuhiwa said.
While haumāna at Kapālama prepare to take the stage in friendly competition, students at Kamehameha Schools Hawai‘i are gearing up for an entirely different kind of performance – one that brings history to life.
ʻEmalani: Scenes from the Life of Queen Emma, a full-length opera in both ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and English, will be performed at their Hōʻike. The production tells the story of a queen who, despite immense loss, dedicated her life to her people. Senior Brooklyn Lumanlan, cast as Queen Emma, immediately felt a connection to the role and was inspired by the aliʻi’s resilience.
“I have had my fair share of grief, so I love the fact that, even in her lowest times, she did everything for the love of her people,” Lumanlan said. “As Hawaiians, you always walk around with the burden of your family. You carry their name and legacy.”
Music director and composer Herb Mahelona KSK’85 has spent years bringing ʻEmalani to life. When he was teaching at St. Andrew’s Priory, he would mysteriously hear a woman singing late at night. He later learned Queen Emma sang opera and played piano, often belting duets with her husband, Alexander Liholiho, to raise money for their hospital. During a visit to her summer palace, he felt her spirit buzzing in the room and asked to write an opera about her.
“I heard a voice say, ‘Please let them know that everything I did, I did to honor my husband and my son,’” Mahelona said. “Those times of loss and grieving can become such a moment of strength – almost a motivational strength for Emma after her husband and baby passed.”
From the harmonized voices of Song Contest to the powerful lines of ʻEmalani, Kamehameha Schools students embrace their kuleana to lead through performance and lōkahi. Whether standing on stage or supporting one another in rehearsals, they carry the weight of their culture, their ʻohana and their own journeys of growth.
“This is the true definition of pushing the boundaries, ʻōiwi leadership and E Ola! right there. It’s all an effort of the art students pushing this out and putting in that work,” said KS Hawaiʻi’s theater director Alohi Gronquist.
Lumanlan hopes that steadfast commitment shines brighter than the spotlight.
“I’m honored to play Queen Emma,” Lumanlan said. “She never gave up on her people and I want to carry that same strength on stage.”
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