Zachary Helm wasn’t surprised when his daughter, Raiatea, asked him for an ukulele; music was part of every day life for the Helm family, and so he bought her an instrument. Nothing more was said about it until months later, when she sat in with several relatives at her mother’s birthday party. The year was 1999, and performing for family at age 15 was the first step towards a stellar career for Molokai born-and-raised Raiatea Helm.
Helm didn’t win when she represented Molokai in the statewide Brown Bags to Stardom talent content in 2000, but three years later her debut album, “Far Away Heaven,” won female vocalist of the year and most promising artist at the 2003 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards. Helm won female vocalist again in 2005 for her second album, “Sweet and Lovely,” and was also voted favorite entertainer of the year. In 2017, Helm won female vocalist for the third time.
More recently, Helm earned a bachelors degree in music at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In addition to her career as a recording artist, Helm also works at the Lili‘uokalani Trust as a youth development outreach specialist.
On Friday, Helm, 37, joins the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra for the season’s final HapaSymphony concert at the Hawaii Theatre Center. Aaron J. Sala will emcee; Keitaro Harada will conduct.
Answers have been edited for clarity.
Let’s start with the obvious question: What are some of the things we can anticipate on Friday?
I have a variety of things going on. I have, of course, traditional Hawaiian, I have the Puccini piece that I did for my recital when I graduated from UH-Manoa, and a Japanese song. Given that the conductor is from Japan, I wanted to honor my fan base there. I haven’t been to Japan since 2017.
Where does performing with the symphony fit in to your broader repertoire?
It’s all good. Living in Hawaii, we’re exposed to so much. I remember telling you years ago for a story for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin that I had a handful of goals that I wanted to achieve, and that one of them was to perform with the symphony. And then I did for the first time, with Matt Catingub and the Honolulu Symphony Pops. That was the first time I ever experienced (live) strings, so after that moment anytime I get to perform with the symphony, that’s always a treat.
I think most people know that George Helm was your uncle. Do you feel a sense of responsibility to continue his musical legacy?
It’s a part of the journey. Responsibilities change, and you learn more about how you can accept it. … Responsibility for me is to maintain the essence of who I am … That tomboy growing up on Molokai is part of the whole package too.
You graduated from high school in 2002, took a few community college classes and then had a successful career as an entertainer — no college diploma needed. Why did you decide to go to UH?
After I released my album in 2016 I spoke with my husband — he wasn’t my husband, but soon to be — and he asked if I had considered studying music. I’d always thought about it but just didn’t have the drive and passion. Going back to school after so many years was a huge readjustment. As far as the learning curve, it was quite challenging, but I did it because it’s the whole thing of accomplishing goals. Setting goals and accomplishing them. Like the first time I played with the symphony.
What’s next for you?
Genealogy is finding our hidden story and how it connects with my role as a singer as a creative, as a woman, as a Hawaiian, all of the above. It’s really going to what my uncle George always advocated, it’s that Hawaiian consciousness that we need to return to. A lot of our people are continuing to be suppressed, but we have our stories, we have the arts, we have education. When I first started, I had folks like the Makaha Sons and many other artists that gave me that chance to thrive. That’s kind of where I’m at now — I gotta step up and be a mentor and a guide for the next generation.
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Reach John Berger at jberger@staradvertiser.com.
