The University of Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra (UHSO) is preparing for an emotionally charged performance on Sunday, December 1, at Kennedy Theatre. Led by Joseph Stepec, associate professor of music at UH Mānoa, the 55-member orchestra will present a diverse program featuring a conductorless performance of Mozart’s Oboe Concerto, with UH faculty and internationally acclaimed oboist Alex Hayashi as soloist, and Dvořák’s New World Symphony.
The highlight of the evening will be Voices of Kalaupapa, a deeply personal and moving new composition by Native Hawaiian composer and conductor Joel Neves. Currently a music professor at Michigan Technological University, Neves created the piece to pay tribute to those sent to Kalaupapa after contracting Hansen’s disease (leprosy) in the late 1800s. Among them were his great-great-grandparents: H.W. Mano (Manookalanipō), who arrived in 1890, and Mele Kaina (Nāhiʻōleʻa), who went two years earlier as kōkua (caretaker) to support those in need.
“My piece covers the grief, the anguish, the pain, the isolation of those who were sent to Kalaupapa through no fault of their own,” Neves explained. “You contracted the disease… it was a life sentence. You would never see your family again.”
Echoes: Pahu, puniu
To capture the depth of Kalaupapa’s history, Neves incorporates traditional Hawaiian instruments into the orchestra, including the pū (conch shell), pahu (drum), and puniu (knee drum), which will be played by members of the UHSO.
“So here we have a direct line to the living composer which is really exciting because not only are we going to be performing his music but we’re going to be working with him from the source directly,” said Stepec.
Darkness and light
While the piece reflects the hardships in Kalaupapa, Neves also celebrates the resilience of the community.
“They adapted as Hawaiians. They lived with aloha and with a sense of joy,” Neves said. They had a Kalaupapa Baseball League, they talked story, they played ʻukulele. They married and had families.”
Neves’ kūpuna (elders) were among those who married and also started an ʻohana including children John Kea and Cecilia Kealiʻimahiʻai Mano.
Letter of aloha
For Neves, this concert is more than music—it’s a personal journey.
“It’s sort of a love letter to my family. The ultimate is bringing the family together to hear…about our kūpuna, our ʻohana, our ancestors.”
Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. concert range from $10 to $15.
—By Moanikeʻala Nabarro
