JOHN BERGER / JBERGER@STARBULLETIN.COM Bandmaster Aaron David Mahi gave his final performance conducting the Royal Hawaiian Band yesterday at the Kapiolani Park Bandstand, ending a 24-year tenure.

Leader’s farewell concert
celebrates place of
Royal Hawaiian Band

Well-wishers honor Mahi's role
as cultural ambassador as others
protest his dismissal

Bandmaster Aaron David Mahi went out with his head up, colors flying and a musical program true to his commitment to preserving and perpetuating the Royal Hawaiian Band's unique Hawaiian heritage.

And in his final appearance as bandmaster, he upheld the Germanic legacy of his predecessor Heinrich "Henry" Berger, who led the band from 1872 to 1915.

Mahi, appointed bandmaster by Mayor Eileen Anderson in 1981, was informed in December that newly elected Mayor Mufi Hannemann had decided to replace him. Two weeks ago, Hannemann said Pearl City High School bandmaster Michael Nakasone was his choice as Mahi's replacement.

Nakasone takes over the $99,800-a-year job on Wednesday. Yesterday afternoon's concert at Kapiolani Park Bandstand was Mahi's final public performance as bandmaster.

It also marked the end of an era in Hawaiian music and in the history of the Royal Hawaiian Band. Friends, well-wishers, Hawaii music fans, tourists looking for authentic Hawaiian culture and the media turned out for it.

Musicologist Jay Junker was there with a camera. So was Heidi Chang. Vic "Lanakila" Rittenband and Nancy Gustafsson were in the audience and acknowledged for their longtime support of the band. (The couple has donated the proceeds from one of their CDs to the Friends of the Royal Hawaiian Band, the nonprofit organization that has done most of the fund-raising work for the band during Mahi's tenure as bandmaster.) Hula master Milton I was one of the first to come forward with a lei for the popular bandmaster. Hawaiian slack-key guitar master George Kuo was there, too.

The program was an impressive reminder of the band's unique place in modern American music. A missing vocalist necessitated a few last-second changes, but a majority of the selections reflected the band's links to classic Hawaiian music and the music of Germanic Europe. It included works by Charles E. King, Franz von Suppe, Johann Strauss, Carl Teike and Queen Liliuokalani.

Mahi, as usual, did triple duty. He not only presided as bandmaster, but performed as a member of the Men's Quartet with Gary Aiko, Scott Furushima and Gene Roland, and also played electric bass as the fifth member of the Royal Hawaiian Band Glee Club while the other musicians took a break behind the bandstand.

JOHN BERGER / JBERGER@STARBULLETIN.COM Royal Hawaiian Bandmaster Aaron David Mahi signed an autograph for Samantha Dias yesterday after his final performance with the band.

The Glee Club added a hapa-haole segment to the program that was a perfect counterpoint to the traditional Hawaiian and Germanic music. Aiko took the lead vocal on "Beyond the Reef," and Mahi stepped forward to give visitors a hint of the kaona (hidden meaning) in "Rocking Chair Hula."

"My Funny Valentine," featuring vocalist Gene Roland elsewhere in the program, added a topical bit of classic American pop music for the Valentine's Day weekend.

Several dozen well-wishers surged forward to give Mahi leis after the band's longtime emcee Ed Michaelman read a proclamation from Gov. Linda Lingle honoring Mahi for his 24-year commitment to preserving the band's Hawaiian heritage and specifically mentioning his international stature as bandleader, cultural ambassador to Germany and other European countries, and recipient of the Bundesverdienstkreuz ("Order of Merit") from the German government in 2003.

In bidding farewell to the band and the crowd, Mahi mentioned meeting German tourists who had been surprised and impressed to find a band in Hawaii playing traditional German marches and waltzes, and surprised as well to learn that the band's ties to Germanic music and musicians actually predated Berger's appointment as bandleader in 1872.

Not everyone was ready to see Mahi go. Paul Gordon was collecting signatures on a petition protesting Hannemann's controversial decision to replace Mahi and calling for his retention as bandmaster.

"I've heard this band for over 10 years, and I think Mr. Mahi is an excellent conductor and a gentleman and represents a Hawaiian spirit, and it makes me very sad to see him leave his position," Gordon said, adding that he feels that "the whole system of selecting a bandmaster needs to be examined."

Another protester was carrying a sign that read "Retain Aaron Mahi."

Jerry Brotherton said that he was "sorry to see (Mahi) go" but seemed willing to give Nakasone a chance to prove himself. Martha Carvalho, who was attending the concert with her husband, Victor, said frankly that she was "hoping for a miracle."

"We love Aaron Mahi. He's doing a fantastic job. There's no reason in heaven's name why Mufi (Hannemann) has to change it. ... (Mahi) is doing a wonderful job, he's historic, he's Hawaiian, he knows our culture. He's not only for the Hawaii people, he's for people all over the world. You'd be surprised at the tourists who don't want him to leave," she said. "He's perfect for the job. Why change it now?"

A woman who walked up on stage to give Mahi a lei after his farewell remarks faced the musicians and said, "Shame on these musicians, shame on these musicians," a pointed rebuke to those who had signed a petition calling for Mahi's ouster.

Mahi, however, held steadfast to the example set by Queen Liliuokalani after the overthrow. He called on the audience to support the band and its new bandmaster, saying that he was proud of what the musicians had accomplished under his leadership and expressing the hope that Nakasone "will be in good hands."