This year’s theme is “In the Key of Sea,” and showcases over a hundred of Hawaii’s top high school musicians from Oahu and Maui in our premier orchestra, Youth Symphony I, and special guest Raiatea Helm! Dr. John Devlin, our newly-appointed Music Director and Conductor, will lead the evening’s musical voyage.
Your participation in this year’s fundraiser is kindly appreciated. HYS subsidizes over 70 percent of the cost per child, keeping tuition below-market, and additionally distributes over $40,000 each year in need-based financial aid. Can music change the world? Hawaii Youth Symphony sees evidence of it every day—and the transformation begins with an investment in each student. Please join us in making the difference.
Make A Donation
We welcome cash donations, supporting our Na Mele Gala Fundraiser. Online donations are accepted here. Mahalo!
Mahalo to Our Table & Advertising Sponsors
| VISIONARY VOYAGERS | MARITIME MAESTROS | SEA-FARING SOLOISTS | EARTHLY EXPLORERS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard & Susan Ing Island Insurance Companies Steven & Marilyn Katzman Top of Waikiki | Accuity LLP / Jean & Kent Tsukamoto Alika & Tanya Mau BlackSand Capital David & Edith Leong First Hawaiian Bank Ginny Tiu Sharon Himeno & Warren Price The Resort Group United Laundry Services Kitty & Buzz Wo | Carol Koga Pacific Property Group Sullivan Family Companies Waikiki Shopping Plaza | Action Realty Corporation Bank of Hawaii Becker Communications Friends of Malama Maunalua Stephen & Gloria Gainsley Bob Hayashi Gladys Hirano Robert & Ashley Kurisu Dennis & Tina Lau Malcolm Lau Patti Look Gilbert Miyasato Dan & Linda Momohara Michael & Amy Onofrietti Tanaka of Tokyo Thomas & Mary Ellen Williams Mike & Terrina Wong Randy & Helen Wong |
Mahalo for your support!
2018 Gala Committee: Erica Mau Orejel (co-chair), Liza Wo Davis (co-chair), Tina Lau, Sharon Himeno, Patti Look, Richard Ing, Mary Ellen Williams
Special Guest: Raiatea Helm
Bio
Raiatea Mokihana Maile Helm set the Hawaiian music community on fire when she was just 18-years-old, with the release of her debut album Far Away Heaven in 2002. Raiatea’s melodic voice made her a natural performer of leo ki`eki`e (Hawaiian falsetto), and earned her the reputation of being the successor to Hawaiian music legend, Aunty Genoa Keawe. Her debut album continued to propel her career into stardom as she received two prestigious Na Hoku Hanohano awards for Female Vocalist of the Year and Most Promising Artist.
The release of Raiatea’s second album, Sweet and Lovely, more than confirmed her early promise and earned her four additional Na Hoku Hanohano Awards in 2006. The success of Sweet and Lovely further garnered her national fame as she became Hawaii’s first-ever solo female vocalist to be nominated for a Grammy©. The album was recognized in the top 10 of “The 25 Greatest Hawaii Albums of the New Century” and Raiatea would later receive her second Grammy nomination in 2008.
In 2011, she became the first Hawaiian recipient of a prestigious Native Arts & Cultures Fellowshipand was most recently named Female Vocalist of the Year in 2017 by her peers upon being awarded her eighth Na Hoku Hanohano Award.
Raiatea is now recognized as one of Hawaii’s premier female vocalists and a keeper of the Hawaiian falsetto tradition of the early to mid-20th century. She has captivated the attention of audiences throughout the Hawaiian Islands and around the world, interpreting traditional Hawaiian song with the mastery and control of a jazz vocalist.