Aunty Genoa Keawe

Last night we got to see a performance of Hawaiian falsetto singing, featuring Aunty Genoa Keawe, a 2000 Heritage Fellow of the National Endowment for the Arts. From her bio:

"A mainstay on the Hawaiian music scene for almost 50 years, Aunty Genoa Keawe is an icon in Hawaiian music. With her tremendous voice she has captivated audiences, kama 'aina and malihini alike. With a tremendous repertoire of traditional Hawaiian standards and Hapa Haole tunes alike, she is without equal. "

Afterwards I bought one of her CDs and received an 8x10 photo that I had Aunty Genoa sign for me.

My ukulele

Here I am with my new ukulele getting a lesson from Larry Heu. He is the current music teacher at Prince David Kawananakoa Middle School in Honolulu, HI, from which Mr. Shimada retired several years ago. I am excited to have my first "real" ukulele. As much as I wanted a Kamaka, it is beyond my budget. This still a nice koa wood uke, made by Kala, and assembled overseas. When it's in its case it looks like I am carrying around a violin... and that's what people thought it was when I boarded my plane at the end of my trip!