Royal Hawaiian Band in 1889 (PPWD-1-3-012)

The Royal Hawaiian Band is the oldest and only full-time municipal band in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. At present a body of the

City & County of Honolulu Honolulu County (officially known as the City and County of Honolulu, formerly Oahu County) is a consolidated city–county in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The city–county includes both the city of Honolulu (the state's capital and largest city ...

, the Royal Hawaiian Band has been entertaining Honolulu residents and visitors since its inception in 1836 by

Kamehameha III Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli) (March 17, 1814 – December 15, 1854) was the third king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name is Keaweaweula Kīwalaō Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula K� ...

. During the monarchy it was nominally a military band. It reached global prominence under the leadership of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

n Heinrich "Henri" Berger, an officer of the

imperial German army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...

loaned to the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ''Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina''), was a sovereign state located in the Hawaiian Islands. The country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great, of the independent island ...

in 1872. Berger composed many beloved marching tunes and other melodies, and would later be honored with the title of "Father of Hawaiian Music." He collaborated with King

Kalākaua Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamananakapu Mahinulani Naloiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), sometimes called The Merrie Monarch, was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kin ...

in creating '' Hawaii Ponoi,'' the national anthem of Hawaii; it is still used today as the official

state song Forty-eight of the fifty U.S. states have one or more state songs, a type of regional anthem, which are selected by each state legislature as a symbol (or emblem) of that particular U.S. state. Some U.S. states have more than one official state ...

. During its long and distinguished history, the Royal Hawaiian band inspired the development of other brass bands in Hawaii, and possibly elsewhere in Polynesia and the Pacific. According to researcher Patrick Hennessey, the band may even be credited for originally introducing Hawaii's world-renowned song "

Aloha 'Oe ''Aloha'' ( , ) is the Hawaiian word for love, affection, peace, compassion and mercy, that is commonly used as a simple greeting but has a deeper cultural and spiritual significance to native Hawaiians, for whom the term is used to define a ...

" to the United States mainland."Interesting Notes" published by The Royal Hawaiian Band, The City and County of Honolulu and The Honolulu City Council , the Royal Hawaiian Band is composed of 40 full-time musicians under the baton of Bandmaster Clarke Bright, previously conducted by

Michael Nakasone Michael Nakasone is a band director. Born in Hawaii, he led the Hawaii Youth Symphony, the Pearl City High School (Hawaii) Band, the Royal Hawaiian Band, and most recently the Punahou School Wind Ensemble. Early life Nakasone was raised in ...

. The band performs every Friday at noon on the grass grounds of the historic

Iolani Palace Iolani is a masculine Hawaiian name meaning "royal ''hawk''." It comes from the Hawaiian words ''ʻio'', meaning "Hawaiian hawk," and ''lani'', meaning "royal." It may refer to: *ʻIolani School, a private school located in Hawaii *ʻIolani Palac ...

downtown Honolulu Downtown Honolulu is the current historic, economic, and governmental center of Honolulu, the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is bounded by Nuuanu Stream to the west, Ward Avenue to the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the nor ...

and on Sundays at two o'oclock at the

Kapiolani Park Queen Kapiolani Regional Park is the largest and second-oldest public park in Hawaii, located in Honolulu on the east end of Waikiki just beyond Kuhio Beach Park and the Waikiki residential neighborhood. The park, named after Queen Kapiolani, ...

Bandstand in

Waikiki Waikiki (; haw, Waikīkī; ; also known as Waikiki Beach) is a neighborhood of Honolulu on the south shore of the island of Oahu in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Waikiki is most famous for Waikiki Beach, which is one of six beaches in the district ...

References

External links

Royal Hawaiian Band
* David Bandy:
Bandmaster Henry Berger and the Royal Hawaiian Band
'. In: ''Hawaiian Journal of History'', Volume 24, 1990, pp. 69–90 *
The Royal Hawaiian Band in U.S. Newspapers
'
Aloha 'Oe, the Song at Pier 10 (A Tall Tale), by John Tanaka
Musical groups from Hawaii Culture of Honolulu 1836 establishments in Hawaii Tourist attractions in Honolulu Government of Honolulu Military of the Hawaiian Kingdom {{Hawaii-stub