Raiatea Helm (Native Hawaiian)

Raiatea Helm is a much heralded musician, who at 26 possesses a focused artistic vision, vocal range and clarity, and the innate and rhythmic giftedness of a musician much her senior. Born into a musically talented family, her first love was not singing, but dancing hula from the age of three. Through hula, she developed a deep respect and appreciation for the Hawaiian language and art of interpreting a mele through its cadenced movements. Her family brimming with musicians and musical talent, she was instinctively destined for the stage. Remarkably, she has been playing professionally for over 10 years and received her first of two Grammy Awards nominations at 21 and locally in Hawaii, she is 6 time winner of Female Vocalist of the Year. Her voice is singular and captivating and she is a natural performer of leo ki`eki`e, a trilling falsetto style of singing, a hallmark of traditional Hawaiian performance. She has recorded 4 full length studio albums and one live performance album. She tours throughout the Pacific Rim and the continent and she collaborates with legends of Hawaiian music including the Cazimero Brothers and Keali’i Reichel. 

She has just released a new studio recording which turns again to traditional Hawaiian music from the 1950’s and early 1960’s, including songs that have not been heard in over 60 years, bringing them to life with new arrangements and fresh voicing. Additionally, she is in the process of establishing “The Raiatea Helm Hawaiian Music Foundation.” Of great concern to Raiatea is the preservation of traditional Hawaiian music and the mission of the foundation is to promote traditional Hawaiian music through music camps, providing scholarships, and producing educational materials to perpetuate the history and music of Hawaiian composers and writers.

Raiatea is our first Music Fellow.

Video Description:

Video 1. Raiatea Helm performs at Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, CA along with Award winning musicians Sonny Lim and Wailau Ryder during her 2011 West Coast Tour. She performs a song entitled “Kauoha Mai” written and composed by the late Lena Machado. 3:50

2. Raiatea Helm performs at the Annual “Spam Jam,” which took place on Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki 2007. She sings the renowned “Alika,” a song that is well known for it’s long held note. Alika was made famous by the Legendary “Aunty” Genoa Keawe. 3:36