Herschel Freeman Agency

Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar and Hula


Keola and Moana Beamer are Hawaii’s First Couple, touring the world to present their unique vision of Hawaii’s cultural arts.  Keola is a master of Slack Key, the mellow, melodic guitar style indigenous to Hawaii, and Moana is renowned for her mastery of authentic Hula dancing.  Together, their presentations bring to life the natural beauty and the cultural awareness that makes Hawaii uniquely appealing.  In the lilting melodies, the colorful words, and the expressive dance movements, the Aloha Spirit is brought full flower by Keola and Moana Beamer. 

KEOLA BEAMER

Keola Beamer is a recognized master of Hawaiian artistic expression. The fascinating history of his family can be traced back to the 15th century. In traditional Hawaiian society, aliÿi (royalty) recognized that sounded words possess mana (spiritual power).  They encouraged musical expression as a way to preserve information and communicate with one another and the gods.

Throughout the generations, the Beamers have been involved in the performing arts.  In the 20th century, they produced a number of influential performers, composers, and teachers. Keola’s great- grandmother, Helen Kapuailohia Desha Beamer (1882-1952), was one of Hawaiÿi’s most prolific and accomplished composers. She was also a skilled dancer whose grace left a lasting imprint on the hula (Hawaiian dance). Her granddaughter, Winona (Nona) Kapuailohia Desha Beamer, is Keola’s mother. A noted chanter, composer, and teacher, Nona is revered for her scholarship and accomplishments in the education of native Hawaiian children.

Keolamaikalani Breckenridge Desha Beamer carries the legacy into the 21st century.  “My family is serious about music,” Keola says. “We come from a history of oral tradition in which music and story telling is a central component. Our Hawaiian genealogies, land boundaries, and navigational information were all in the chant form. We are now beginning to realize the wealth of that knowledge and how so much of it has been lost. We are finally regaining some of these meanings and incorporating them in our own lives.”

Keola has played guitar, piano, and ÿ ohe hano ihu (Hawaiian nose flute) since he was very young. He studied hula and sang in glee clubs while attending Kamehameha School, a school for children of Hawaiian ancestry. Keola attended Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. He was an active teacher of kï hö alu (slack key guitar) in the 1970s and compiled the first comprehensive teaching manual on the subject, Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar (Oak Publications, New York) . His contributions to slack key during the 70s began to spark public interest in kï hö alu, launching a statewide revival of the tradition. His teaching continues today with extensive seminars on the island of Hawaii in which guitarists and dancers from all over the world gather in an extended ÿohana format that the Beamers have called “The Aloha Music Camps.”

Keola views this immersion-style method as a way to responsibly share the traditions of music and dance within a cultural context.  Keola is especially noted for his ability to recontextualize ancient Hawaiian mele (songs) into contemporary settings in which he has created a style uniquely his own.

His history has been a series of groundbreaking events, beginning in 1972 with the solo slack key album Hawaiian Slack Key In The Real Old Style. That LP is considered by many to be the catalyst for the revival of kï hö alu. His 1978 release, Honolulu City Lights, is the largest selling recording in the history of Hawaiian music.

In 1994, Wooden Boat, Keola’s first release on George Winston’s Dancing Cat label, became the first Hawaiian music CD ever to reach the top 15 on the Billboard World Music Charts. All four of his subsequent releases for Dancing Cat, Moeÿuhane Kïkä - Tales From The Dream Guitar, Mauna Kea - White Mountain Journal, Kolonahe - From the Gentle Wind, and Soliloquy - Ka Leo o Loko (The Voice Within) have also reached the Top 15. Keola’s recent recording, Island Born, released on his own ÿOhe Records label, received rave reviews and nationwide airplay.

Keola Beamer’s live concert performances embody the magical  otherworldliness of this melodic language of dreams. His unique and polished style of musicianship skillfully accentuates the stories that his songs tell about the culture and the experience of being Hawaiian in a contemporary world. The repertoire he presents is a three-dimensional experience, combining the elements of mele (song), hula (dance), and oli (chant) with native percussion instruments and Hawaiian folklore.

Keola’s contributions in performance art outside of his solo career include “Here is Hawaii” at the former Maui Surf Hotel in Kaanapali, “Ulalena” at the Maui Theater in Lahaina, and “You Somebody” at the Diamond Head Theater in Honolulu.  In March of 2001, Maui-based filmmaker, Ken Burgmaier, filmed Keola in concert at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center. What began as as footage for Burgmaier’s Jazz Alley TV series on the BET network blossomed into a full-feature documentary about Keola, along with commentary from such diverse luminaries as George Winston and fellow Mauian, Willie Nelson. The film, entitled Keola Beamer: Kï Hö alu — Loosen the Key, won major awards at film festivals in New York, Houston and Los Angeles.

Keola continues to expand on the slack key tradition as well as author books, including a best-selling collection of original Hawaiian stories entitled “The Shimmering - ka olili”. Keola Beamer lives on the Island of Maui with his wife, Moanalani.

MOANALANI BEAMER

Moanalani Beamer began her hula training at the early age of four with kumu hula (hula master) Johnny Hokoana. In her early years, she continued training extensively with several different kumu in Hawaii. Her primary source of inspiration was the famed kumu kula, Robert Kalani.

After making her professional debut, Moanalani starred in the main revues of several prestigious hotels and resorts on the island of Maui. Her professional experience includes tenures with the shows of George Paoa, Jessie Näkookä, The Ohana Revue, and Nephi Hanneman.

Moana is also a teacher, sharing her knowledge with some of the young people of her home town of Lahaina, Hawaii. Her sensitive nature combines her understanding of the technique with the spiritual and philosophical currents expressed in the hula. Moana remains firmly committed to sharing her cultural knowledge worldwide. For the past three years, she has traveled to Europe to co-teach several workshops on movement and Hawaiian dance with renown German movement teacher Dorothea Jöllenbeck.   She also travels annually to Japan to teach hula workshops.

On stage, Moana is a dynamo, adding percussive interludes, chanting, showcasing many of the nearly 272 documented styles of hula found in Hawaii. She also adds an element of “talk story,” giving the background behind many of the pieces the duo perform together. She also sings background vocals, and plays several ancient Hawaiian percussive instruments, including iliili, kä eke eke and ipu. 

Moana continues to study hula with Nona Beamer, noted elder, culture historian, and mother of her husband, Keola. Much of Moana’s year is spent dancing, chanting, teaching, and providing percussive interludes on tour with her husband Keola. Together they present a complete sensory experience of Hawaiian music, chant, and dance.

 

Press Photos

Beamer Beamer    

 

Tour Schedule

2011

February 20  Camp Hill United Methodist Church, Camp Hill PA
c/o Susquehanna Folk Music Society, www.sfmsfolk.org
February 23  The Birchmere, Alexandria VA
August 5-7 Edmonton Folk Festival, Edmonton AB
November 4 Buckman Performing Arts Center, Memphis TN
November 6-11 Public Library System, Oklahoma City OK

 

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