Kamehameha Schools students virtually celebrate 100th Song Contest

To keep the century-long tradition alive during the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of Kameha­meha Schools students virtually performed for the 100th Song Contest.

The Song Contest was originally scheduled to be at the Blaisdell Center on March 20. Due to the coronavirus, it was postponed to online at noon today.

This year’s theme is “I Mau ke Aloha ‘Aina.”

“What’s cool about the Song Contest is that we don’t have a lot of traditions or annual events in Hawaii that last this long,” said Zachary Lum, choral director of the Kamehameha Schools’ Kapalama campus.

The seniors took the lead on the choir performance, and more than 200 participated for their last year of high school.

However, freshmen, sophomores and juniors will perform for next year’s Song Contest. The theme will remain the same.

The students were devastated when the in-person performance was postponed, but they were eager to be able to sing behind a computer screen in unity.

“At that point we were all bummed, but to be honest, it was actually a nice resting period just because we’ve been working hard for so long,” said Josias Fronda, 18, who recently graduated.

Normally, the singers practice months before the Song Contest. This year, Fronda said, there was no trouble performing virtually because everything was memorized.

Three prerecorded choir performances were aired.

“We normally have 200 (people) looking back at us, so it was different conducting in our bedrooms and not having anyone to sing along with,” Fronda said.

Fronda said it took about two weeks to record the choir performance.

In 1921 the first Song Contest was performed at what is now known as Bishop Museum. At that time, Kamehameha Schools was an all-boys school.

“Over the past hundred years, Kamehameha students have sung the mele (music) of their kupuna (elders),” according to the Kamehameha Schools website. “Those mele (music) are the pages of our history, kept alive at the tip of the tongue.”

There were 10 songs that were supposed to be performed in March that highlighted key topics like aloha aina, according to Lum.

“Initially, the idea for this year was to honor the 100 years but to also use it as looking into the future,” Lum said. “How do we offer this process of mele (music) that was basically kept alive in the students who sung the song to their ancestors? We honor the practice ourselves, so we make sure that we’re doing our part to further this tradition.”

To watch the song contest, go to ksbe.edu/songcontest/2020.