Kamehameha Schools’ teacher and filmmaker receives Hawai’i Music Award

March 13, 2006

Contributed by Liz Ahana

"I am really ecstatic about the award mainly because it gives Betty Loo Taylor, a Hawai'i legend, the recognition she deserves, said Gillespie. I feel that I was very lucky to do the documentary, and I learned a lot about jazz and Hawai'i while doing it."

Convincing the local jazz pianist that her life was interesting enough to document on film was quite an obstacle according to Gillespie. "She first said to us that she didn't think anyone would be interested in her life, that it was pretty boring. As you'll see in the film, we actually had something pretty interesting."

An integral part of the revival of student filmmaking at Kamehameha Schools' Kapalama Campus, Gillespie felt it was important for her students to see that beyond being their teacher, she's also a filmmaker.

"Three years in the making, this labor of love gave me the opportunity to show my students that I can produce as well as teach the art of filmmaking. "I think it's important for them to understand that this is a passion that can take them on journeys they've never dreamed of if they choose to pursue it."

The 9th Annual Hawai'i Music Awards will also honor Betty Loo Taylor with a Lifetime Legacy Award on March 16, 2006 at a black tie affair at Lau Yee Chai Restaurant in Waikiki.

The Hawai'i Music Awards is an annual contest held at the beginning of each year recognizing artists and musicians living in Hawai'i, Hawaiian and Polynesian musicians anywhere in the world, and international artists who perform Hawaiian or Polynesian-style music.

Winners are determined by online voting from a public audience around the world. Anyone with an internet connection may cast a vote.

Kamehameha Schools is a private charitable trust founded and endowed by the legacy of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop and is the sole beneficiary of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate. Kamehameha Schools operates a statewide educational system and currently more than 5,400 students of Hawaiian ancestry are enrolled in K-12 campuses on three islands and at more than 30 preschool sites statewide. Thousands of additional Hawaiian learners are served through a range of other Kamehameha Schools' outreach programs, distance learning programming, community collaborations and financial aid opportunities in Hawai'i and across the continental United States.