Nola Nahulu

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Nola A. Nāhulu (born 3 November 1954) is one of Hawaiʻi's most prominent choral conductors. She is the artistic director of the Hawaii Youth Opera Chorus (HYOC), as well as the Kawaiahaʻo Church Choir, Kawaiolaonāpukanileo, an a cappella Hawaiian choral ensemble, and others. She is a teacher and lecturer at UH Mānoa. Additionally, she runs Bette Muʻumuʻu, a well-known dress manufacturer in Hawaiʻi. Nola Nāhulu is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools.

[edit] Career

Aunty Nola, as she is often called, is well known within the choral circle of Hawaiʻi as well as the nation. She is in high demand as a choral director and clinician. However, she is often unable to participate in choral events outside of Hawaii. With HYOC, Ms. Nāhulu has directed many festivals in Hawaiʻi including the Na Leo Pili Mai Choral Festival and E Mele Kākou Children's Choral Festival. In Spring 2006 she conducted a small clinic as part of the MENC convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. She also participates in the annual Pacific Rim Children's Chorus Festival every summer as the host choir; she also frequently assists with the Hawaiian pieces which have become a staple of the festival.

[edit] Other projects

Ms Nāhulu also arranges music, primarily Hawaiian songs. She arranged a version of Queen Liliʻuokalani's Nani Na Pua O Koʻolau for the Pacific Rim festival. However, many of Aunty Nola's arrangements have never been written down, as they are often invented during rehearsals to account for balance issues or to add additional harmony parts to a simple Hawaiian melody. Many of the songs done by her choirs are her own personal arrangements or were done improv-style to a general melody, a typical practice in Kanikapila-style Hawaiian music.