Hey yall. How was your Christmas? My sister sent me the coolest music video--check out the fun and funny Christmas medley--The 12 Days of Christmas--by Straight Up No Chaser on youtube.com.
As usual, it's a bittersweet season. I lost a friend on December 6. Ed Kaho'olono Michelman was a radio and TV veteran in Honolulu. For 40 years Ed was host and narrator for the Royal Hawaiian Band, appearing at the band's first concert at New York's Carnegie Hall, and touring the U.S. and Europe. Ed was also known in the islands for his extensive knowledge of Hawaiian history, literature, and his interest in preserving Hawaiian music. He studied Hawaiiana with Mary Kawena Pukui and she gave him the name "Kaho'olono" which means "voice of God" or "voice of truth."
Ed was born in 1929 in New York City and moved to Hawaii in 1952. For 10 years, Ed was communications officer at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, retired in 1999. His most recent work was a project with Aaron Mahi, Director of the Royal Hawaiian Band, for the Kawananakoa Foundation to research and arrange music from the Na Mele Hawaii collection for beginning and intermediate bands. I knew Ed for more than 25 years. About six weeks before he died, I emailed him asking if he might translate some lyrics into Hawaiian for my long-dreamed-of CD of Hawaiian music. He said he was not an expert in the nuance of the language and the nuance needed to be absolutely accurate for the lyrics. I'm glad he knew I was thinking of him and wanted his help with the project. Ed, I will remember your voice and your mischievous eyes. Rest easy in the land of the night marchers. Aloha nui loa.
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