Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, 1 September 1983 — ROYAL HAWAIIAN BAND [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ROYAL HAWAIIAN BAND

The Royal Hawaiian Band recently returned from its first European tour under the leadership of the current bandmaster Aaron Mahi, who follows in the footsteps of bandmasters like Henry Berger and Mekia Kealakai. Mahi is the first Hawaiian to direct the band in 40 years. His education in classical music began at Kalakaua Intermediate School, continued through Kamehameha Schools, ending with a music degree from the University of Hartford. Mahi's knowledge of the German language was a decided asset during the band's tour. He received the coveted Golden Ring of Honor from the Association of German Musicians. Few foreigners have been accorded this prestigious honor. The band's tour was funded by the 1981 Hawaii State legislature and toured ten cities and seven countries in 21 days. According to the City's statistics the band performed 1 5 concerts reaching an audience of 17,000 people and over 24 million viewers via two Munich-base television appearances.

While in Europe the band was presented with a new Schellenbaum or bell tree, an unusual percussion instrument played by shaking. lt is one of the world's oldest musical instruments and weighs seventy-five pounds. The new Schellenbaum is a replica of the one presented to King Kalakaua in 1887 by the Emperor of Germany. Hawaii's original Schellenbaum was ordered destroyed in 1893 by the Provisional Government because it represented a symbol of the Hawaiian monarchy. The Royal Hawaiian Band presents regular concerts every Friday at Iolani Palaee Bandstand and Sundays at the Kapiolani Park Bandstand.