Song Contest 2022

Charles E. King, graduate of the first class of Kamehameha School for Boys in 1891, distinguished himself as a prolific composer of some of Hawai‘i's most beloved mele. When his two famous anthologies were published in the early 20th century, “Hawaiian Melodies” and “Songs of Hawai‘i” – known as the “blue and green books” respectively – his compositions, along with those of the royal composers and other turn of the century song writers, became the gold standard for Kamehameha Schools choral singing and in particular, the Song Contest. Elder graduates from the 1940s still recall being taught by King, and his music remains a cornerstone of the century-old tradition. Today, as we pore over the hundreds of choral arrangements in the music files at Kamehameha Schools Kapālama, we see the names of revered teachers who have inspired young singers and pushed them to the highest levels of musicmaking.

Laura E. Brown’s arrangements throughout her time at Kamehameha from 1926 to 1947 reveal an intimate understanding of young female voices and how to keep them buoyant and angelic in the upper register.

During Frank P. Kernohan’s tenure from 1935 to 1952, his simple, straight-forward arrangements of old favorites helped to popularize and expand the Hawaiian repertoire at the Boys School.

Harold B. Turney’s arrival in 1950 marked the beginning of what some call Kamehameha’s “golden age of music.” As a choral director he was able to harness the virile quality of developing male voices, and his arrangements for both male and female chorus highlighted with great effect the unusually rich and full-bodied blend of Kamehameha’s remarkable adolescent singers.

Walter Tullis’s arrangements during his brief stay from 1950 to 1951 showed a zeal for close harmonies and complicated chromatic movements that would surely keep professional singers on their toes, and yet were routinely delivered with seemingly little effort as part of the song competition.

Martha Poepoe Hohu, class of 1925, came from a musical family associated with Kaumakapili Church where her father, Rev. Henry Poepoe, was pastor. As a member of the Kamehameha faculty from 1932 to 1957, she leaned on her early training as a church accompanist and her upbringing in traditional hīmeni which made her arrangements uncomplicated and very singable.

Her daughter, “Aunty Leila” Hohu Kiaha of the class of 1944, followed in her mother’s footsteps as both accompanist and arranger. Fond of “call and response” motifs between bass and treble, and a stickler for prominent melody lines in her arrangements, Aunty Leila’s no-nonsense rehearsal technique and tough-love teaching style endeared her to hundreds of students for many decades.

Dorothy Kahananui Gillett, a 1936 graduate, taught at Kamehameha from 1943 to 1957. Over that time, her strong technical training would bring her shoulder to shoulder with the revered Harold Turney resulting in one of the great classic male chorus arrangements in Kamehameha’s choral tradition. Gillett adapted a traditional chant to a choral setting which featured a warrior-like unison and mysterious dynamic shading as a dramatic prelude to Turney’s warm and sonorous rendition of the iconic, “Hole Waimea.” A prolific arranger, Gillett would produce some of the most creative and sophisticated choral interpretations for male, female, and mixed chorus adding significantly to the body of literature for the Song Contest.

In 1959, Robert Springer came to Kamehameha to head the Music Department at the Boys School. As director of the Boys Concert Glee Club, he was a serious choral clinician who helped singers hone their skills through discipline and technique. In 1963, Dale Noble was hired to direct the Girls Concert Glee Club, and when Springer went on sabbatical in 1966, Noble became the director of the Boys Concert Glee Club, a position he held for many years.

Then in 1965, Robert Nelson came to Kamehameha to direct the Girls Concert Glee Club. Nelson stressed the importance of balance and finesse and was especially adept at producing rich sounds in female voices.

Dale Noble is fondly remembered as a patient, kindhearted teacher whose knowledge and experience in choral music was far greater than his humble demeanor let on. He emphasized blend and taught students how to listen by developing a discerning ear for bright intonation and the shaping of warm round tones that ring with higher overtones when perfectly in tune. He exposed students to a wide range of choral literature while maintaining excellence in classical Hawaiian choral repertoire. He oversaw the running of the Song Contest and coached many song leaders over his storied 32-year career at Kamehameha.

The youngest of the choral educators to be lauded this evening is a 1963 graduate of the Kamehameha School for Girls. After intense training in opera and choral conducting at the prestigious Ithaca College of Music in New York, Zillah Pua‘ala Young was a rising star on a world stage having recorded as a mezzo soprano soloist under world-renowned composer Igor Stravinsky. Her desire to uplift young singers in Hawai‘i drew her back home where she served as the Girls Concert Glee director at Kamehameha. While she was still in her 20s, she distinguished herself as the youngest person ever selected to lead the Hawai‘i Opera Chorus and the Honolulu Symphony Chorus. In 1977, Young brought the boys and girls concert glee clubs together to form a combined Concert Glee Club. Her choral teaching focused on support, posture, technique, and rigor, and her spirited arrangement of “Kūhiō Bay” garnered the first-ever freshmen co-ed victory in Song Contest history. Her popularity among the students made her untimely passing at the age of 33 particularly heartbreaking – and yet it is gratifying to know that her epic contributions to Hawai‘i’s choral heritage, like those of her predecessors, are forever a part of our vibrant living legacy of song.