**Aaron Mahi (1953-2024) playing ʻukulele at HMTA’s online Kanikapila Jam Session at Orvis Auditorium in 2021** (Photo Credit: 2022-2024 HMTA President Monica Chung)

History will remember Aaron Mahi as one of the most prolific Hawaiian musicians of the 20th and 21st century. Born and raised in Honolulu on July 9, 1953, Aaron David Mahi, graduated from Kamehameha Schools in 1971 and continued his musical education at the Hartt School of Music and at the Herbert Blomstedt Institute of Conducting at La Sierra. Returning home to Hawaii in the mid-1970s. He performed and recorded as a member of the Hawaiian music groups Hui Aloha ʻAina Tuahine and Kaimana. In 1978, Mahi joined the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra as a bassist and also began occasional performances as its conductor. In 1981, Honolulu Mayor Aileen Anderson appointed him bandmaster of the Royal Hawaiian Band, a position he held for 24 years. The first Native Hawaiian to serve as bandmaster since Charles E. King retired in 1941, he was the only bandmaster other than Henri Berger who was fluent in English, Hawaiian and German, and he was therefore able to read German-language materials dating from Berger’s 43 years as bandmaster.

**Duane Padilla, George Kuo, Raiatea Helm, and Aaron Mahi performing** **at HMTA’s online Kanikapila Jam Session at Orvis Auditorium in 2021** (Photo Credit: Monica Chung)

**Raiatea Helm, George Kuo, and Aaron Mahi at HMTA’s online Kanikapila Jam Session at Orvis Auditorium in 2021** (Photo Credit: Monica Chung)

While his list of achievements could fill volumes, Aaron Mahi will be most remembered as a friend and mentor to generations of Hawaiian musicians. A living encyclopedia of Hawaiian music, everyone in the music community knew that if you needed to learn anything about Hawaiian music, culture or language, the easiest thing to do was call Uncle Aaron. A gifted storyteller, he would not only answer your question but also frame both the question and answer in the context of Hawaiian culture and history. His knowledge of Hawaiian language was so deep, he could see past the simple words of lyrics and texts and unlock multiple layers of meanings that would go unnoticed by anyone else. He shared this knowledge not in the cold style of lecturer or a professor, but instead with the love and warmth of a grandfather telling stories to his children and grandchildren.

**Raiatea Helm and and Aaron Mahi performing** **at HMTA’s online Kanikapila Jam Session at Orvis Auditorium in 2021** (Photo Credit: Monica Chung)

When HMTA first had an idea to host an online Kanikapila Jam Session in 2021, I reached out to singer Raiatea Helm and her first reaction was, “we should get Uncle Aaron involved.” At the time, his health problems were starting to get quite serious. He was not really performing or teaching. But since a presentation for HMTA would be a huge opportunity to present Hawaiian music to a whole new group of people who focused mostly on classical music, also one of his great loves, we thought it was important to at least ask. Since Raiatea and I both worked closely with him in his Sovereign Strings project, we had our fingers crossed that he might come, at least as a favor to us. He generously agreed to perform. On concert day, he played ukulele, sang, and spoke about Hawaiian music and culture as only he could do. After the concert, I was helping him down from the stage and he whispered, “careful…I broke my arm yesterday.” No cast, no splint, no bandage, no sign of any medical treatment, it was pretty clear that he did not tell anyone that he broke his arm…most likely because he did not want any care givers telling him he could not perform in the concert. His gift to HMTA that day was one of his last public performances. God bless you Aaron Mahi. You will forever be in our hearts.

-Duane Padilla, Former HMTA Director (2020-2023)