Raiatea Helm will perform with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra

Zachary Helm wasn’t surprised when his daughter, Raiatea, asked him for a ukulele; music was part of daily life for the Helm family, so he bought her an instrument. Nothing more was said about it until months later, when she sat down with several relatives at her mother’s birthday party. It was 1999, and playing for the family at 15 was the first step towards a successful career for Raiatea Helm, born and raised in Molokai.

Helm didn’t win when she represented Molokai in Brown Bags to Stardom’s statewide talent content in 2000, but three years later, her debut album, “Far Away Heaven,” went viral. won Female Singer of the Year and Most Promising Artist at the 2003 Na Hoku. Hanohano Awards. Helm won female singer again in 2005 for her second album, “Sweet and Lovely”, and was also voted Favorite Artist of the Year. In 2017, Helm won the singer award for the third time.

Most recently, Helm earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In addition to his 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 last HapaSymphony concert of the season at the Hawaii Theater Center. Aaron J. Sala will be the emcee; Keitaro Harada will direct.

Answers have been edited for clarity.

Let’s start with the obvious question: what are some of the things we can look forward to on Friday?

I have a variety of things going on. I have, of course, the traditional Hawaiian, I have the Puccini piece that I did for my recital when I graduated from UH-Manoa, and a Japanese song. Since the conductor is from Japan, I wanted to honor my fan base there. I haven’t been to Japan since 2017.

How does playing with the symphony fit into your larger repertoire?

It’s perfect. Living in Hawaii, we are exposed to so many things. I remember telling you years ago for a story for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin that I had a handful of goals I wanted to achieve, and one of them was to perform with the symphony. And then I did it for the first time, with Matt Catingub and the Honolulu Symphony Pops. It was my first time to experience strings (live), so after that time, every time I play with the symphony, it’s always a treat.

I think most people know George Helm was your uncle. Do you feel responsible for continuing his musical legacy?

It’s part of the journey. Responsibilities change and you learn more about how you can accept it. … The responsibility for me is to maintain the essence of who I am … ​​This tomboy growing up in Molokai is also part of the whole.

You graduated from high school in 2002, took a few courses at a community college, and then had a successful career as an artist – no college degree necessary. Why did you decide to go to UH?

After my album came out in 2016, I spoke with my husband – he wasn’t my husband, but he was soon to be – and he asked if I had considered studying music. I had always thought about it, but I just didn’t have the drive and the passion. Going back to school after so many years was a huge readjustment. As for the learning curve, it was pretty tough, but I did it because it’s all goal accomplishment. Set goals and achieve them. Like the first time I played with the symphony.

What’s next for you?

Genealogy is about finding our hidden history and how it relates to my role as a singer, creator, wife, Hawaiian, all of the above. It really goes in the direction of what my Uncle George has always advocated, it’s this Hawaiian consciousness that we have to come back to. Many of our fellow citizens continue to be repressed, but we have our stories, we have the arts, we have education. When I started, I had people like the Makaha Sons and many other artists who gave me this chance to grow. That’s kind of where I’m at now – I have to step in and be a mentor and guide for the next generation.

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Contact John Berger at jberger@staradvertiser.com.