January 4
American Masterpieces – Hana Hou Concert

Composer and ukulele virtuoso, Kahauanu Lake, will be honored on January 4, 2009, in a Hana Hou Concert celebrating his work as part of the National Endowment (NEA) and State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA) American Masterpieces program.  Mr. Lake and his wife, Hula Master Maiki Aiu Lake, were prominent Hawaiian entertainers during the 1960’s through the early 1980’s.  Their creative collaborations lead the way for a new generation of hula practitioners and Hawaiian musicians. The afternoon concert will showcase their works.   

The concert will feature a talk story session with Kahauanu and dancers of Maiki Aiu Lake.  “This is an opportunity to hear the stories behind the creative process and to see first hand how these people became a hula family”, says producer and kumu hula Michael Pili Pang.  Through an appropriation from the NEA-SFCA American Masterpieces Program the original concert was presented on four major islands with guest kumu hula from each of the Islands who performed with the Lake’s during the height of their popularity.  Pang added, “our contract to present the concert series is over, but Uncle “K” wants to do another one, so we are combining the concert with his 77^th birthday; which happens to be on January 2^nd”.