Nicholas Kealiʻi Lum bridges tradition and innovation in mele Hawaiʻi
A University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo doctoral candidate is revitalizing Hawaiian music by weaving ʻōlelo and experimental sound together through the Makuakāne Fellowship.
Hilo, Hawaiʻi
Source: University of Hawaiʻi News
The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo’s Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language is celebrating a milestone in language and cultural revitalization through the work of PhD candidate Nicholas Kealiʻi Lum, the first recipient of the Daniel and Lydia Makuakāne Endowed Scholarship and Fellowship.
Lum’s dissertation, Pewa: I Ola ke Mele Hawaiʻi i kona Mele ʻia (“The Life of Hawaiian Music in Its Song”), explores how mele Hawaiʻi continues to evolve through new forms of musical expression. His work weaves ancestral compositions with contemporary sound, inviting younger audiences to engage with ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi in fresh and meaningful ways.
Established by the Makuakāne family to honor their parents’ lifelong dedication to ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and Native Hawaiian education, the fellowship supports doctoral research that bridges tradition and innovation. It also allows Lum to expand on his 2023 debut album Pewa, which integrates experimental approaches to mele that emphasize both the poetic and linguistic power of Hawaiian music. His research affirms that mele Hawaiʻi is logogenic, which as Lum shares means that "words in a genre of music are more important than the musical treatment."
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