Historic Hawai‘i Foundation is thrilled to be presenting The Music of Kalaupapa concert an Achievement in Interpretive Media Preservation Honor Award. The Music of Kalaupapa was a virtual concert celebrating the often-forgotten musicians of Kalaupapa and the many songs they composed that premiered on October 17, 2020. Beautifully executed, the concert has created a perpetual space for these musicians, their lyrics, their artistry, and their spirits to live on.
The concert was the idea of Valerie Monson, the recently retired executive director of the nonprofit Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa, who oversaw the project from start to finish. “The history of Kalaupapa is often told in a manner solely focused on the sadness or sensational images. As a result, many aspects of Kalaupapa that contributed to life in the community — music, arts, sports and hobbies — have been left out,” Monson explained. “Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa has always tried to show the history with more context and dignity, not rewriting history by ignoring the struggles, but by including the ways that the people of Kalaupapa overcame the adversities. Music was certainly one of these.”
The Music of Kaluapapa highlighted these stories of triumph. This community was able to find beauty and joy in life amongst truly challenging times–something which is poignantly pertinent to current times.
Monson shared her thoughts about the impact this concert had on the community and people of Kalaupapa: “I think it ended up being a really fun day at Kalaupapa, something different and engaging six months into the pandemic lockdown when there were no family or friends coming to visit or provide entertainment. The Franciscan Sisters at Bishop Home and the nurses at The Kalaupapa Care Home set up big screens to host some of the residents, keeping up with the pandemic protocol. Five minutes before the concert was to air, I was keeping my fingers crossed that the Internet would work — often a problem at Kalaupapa. Thank goodness it did — and the positive reaction was even more than we anticipated.
I believe the Kalaupapa community has come to expect these kinds of programs from Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa. Since we organized in 2003, one of our missions has been to develop different ways of sharing a more accurate and inclusive history of Kalaupapa based on the words of the people so they will always be remembered. Since that time, we’ve created traveling exhibits, published books, produced a brief video as an introduction to the history, created a digital library of information about the people of Kalaupapa to help families reconnect and developed other materials so teachers, students and the public can better understand the history. Emphasizing the music at Kalaupapa and singling out some of the talented musicians continues our commitment to remembering each of the nearly 8,000 people sent to Kalaupapa by their names and the lives they lived.
The impact of the concert went far beyond Kalaupapa — descendants and longtime friends of the community were excited to learn more about this chapter of history and to see photos of family and close friends. The concert was viewed across Hawai‘i, the US Continent, Japan, Belgium, Ghana and Australia.”
Monson also shared special moments of conversation she had with people after they watched the concert:
“Every comment was enthusiastic — and most people said the concert was way more than they expected. Because we wanted the concert to have depth and not only feature music, but also a brief history of Kalaupapa, the history of music and descriptions of the lives of the musicians and how the songs came to be, most people recognized the concert as part documentary and part concert. Everyone expressed gratitude to all of today’s musicians who performed the songs so beautifully and with such reverence, to television/radio personality Billy V who delivered the narrative in real Kalaupapa style and to Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa for making the concert possible.
Ka ‘Ohana also wanted to remind viewers, during the pandemic, that when people were diagnosed with leprosy, they were usually taken from their families and sent to Kalaupapa for the rest of their lives — no one had the option of a 14-day quarantine or staying at home during a lockdown. And yet most of those sent to Kalaupapa found strength in themselves and the community to find happiness, love and success again.”
The Music of Kalaupapa serves as a message of hope for present and future generations. This truly is something to be celebrated. The individuals who were sent to Kalaupapa made the best of the situation they were forced into; they became each other’s ‘ohana and found comfort in music. Music became a form of expression and an avenue to make sure their stories were not forgotten. We congratulate and mahalo Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa for creating this virtual concert that will forever live on!
By Michelle Kiczek, Development Assistant, Historic Hawai‘i Foundation
The The Music of Kalaupapa concert is posted on Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa’s website. Click here to be enchanted and taken back to a different time!