ASSOCIATION OF HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUBS
A RESOLUTION
No. 2017 – 1
REMEMBERING HAWAI‘I’S MASTERFUL FALSETTO SINGER, RECORDING ARTIST AND HAWAIIAN MUSIC EXPONENT EDWIN MAHI‘AI COPP BEAMER
WHEREAS, Edwin Mahi‘ai Copp Beamer was born in Honolulu, Hawai‘i to Milton Ho‘olulu Desha Beamer, Sr. and Mildred Ka‘aloehukaiopua‘ena Copp Beamer on December 5, 1928; and
WHEREAS, Mahi‘ai Beamer, most often referred to as “Mahi Beamer,” is recognized as an outstanding pillar of our Hawaiian Community, and is noted as an accomplished singer, chanter, dancer, piano player, recording artist, composer, and choreographer, as well as being one of Hawai‘i’s premier falsetto singers; and
WHEREAS, Mahi‘ai Beamer graduated from the Kamehameha Schools for Boys in 1946, and attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, the Juilliard School of Music and the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa; and
WHEREAS, Mahi‘ai Beamer served in United States Army, from 1951 to 1953, and was a member of the Musicians’ Association of Hawai‘i AFM Local 677; and
WHEREAS, Mahi‘ai Beamer has been in the field of Hawaiian entertainment for over 70 years, and began composing when he was just in the seventh grade. His earliest compositions were “The Message,” as a tribute to his mother, and for his dad, a Father’s Day song entitled “The Pledge;” and
WHEREAS, a tour of hula and song took Mahi‘ai Beamer, along with his cousins Keola and Winona, into Mexico and throughout the U. S. Mainland, with their final performance at Little Carnegie in New York City; and
WHEREAS, in 1949, Mahi‘ai Beamer was hired to sing in the Hawaiian Room of the Hotel Lexington, New York, with Lani MacIntire’s orchestra, entertained the world with Hawaiian music from Japan to Egypt; and for 13 years, headlined, along with his sister Helen Sunbeam Beamer, in Las Vegas as a part of Nālani Kele’s Polynesian Revue; and
WHEREAS, in 1957, Mahi‘ai Beamer released a double-sided 78 RPM recording of his grandmother’s compositions “Kawohikūkapulani” and “Nā Kuahiwi ‘Elima on the Decca label and, in 1959, recorded two albums on the Capitol label, “The Remarkable Voice of Hawaii’s Mahi Beamer in Authentic Hawaiian Songs,” and “More Authentic Island Songs by Mahi, Hawaiʻi’s Most Remarkable Voice,” both of which were re-released on CD format in 2004/2005; and
WHEREAS, all of Mahi‘ai Beamer’s recordings are considered treasured elusive gems of Hawaiian music; and
WHEREAS, in Hawai‘i, Mahi‘ai Beamer was the top vocal attraction at the Queen’s Surf from 1954 to 1959, performing three shows nightly; also performing at the Princess Ka‘iulani Hotel, the Kuilima Hotel at its opening in May of 1972, at Princeville on Kauai, the Honolulu Club, the Second Floor in Kailua, the Westin Kaua‘i, Kō‘ele Lodge, Lāna‘i, Kemo‘o Farms, Bay View Golf Course for ten years, Andrew’s for nearly 11 years, and the Prince Kūhiō Hotel for five years; and
WHEREAS, as the grandson and pupil of Hawaiian composer Helen Desha Beamer, Mahi‘ai, together with his cousins Marmionett Ka‘aihue and Gaye Beamer compiled Songs of Helen Desha Beamer, published by the Abigail K. Kawānanakoa Foundation in 1991; and
WHEREAS, Mahi‘ai Beamer participated in a musical tribute to his grandmother with the Honolulu Symphony in “Music of the Heartland” in 1992; and
WHEREAS, one of Mahi‘ai Beamer’s finest achievements is the translation of his grandmother’s compositions, from the Hawaiian language to English, thus sharing with the world an insight into the incomparable beauty of Hawaiian poetic expression; and
WHEREAS, Mahi‘ai Beamer received a State of Hawai‘i certificate recognizing him as a “Steward of the musical talent of the Beamer ‘ohana and the leader in the dissemination and perpetuation of the cultural legacy of Helen Desha Beamer; and
WHEREAS, Mahi‘ai Beamer’s deep appreciation for the traditions and values of his Hawaiian heritage are reflected in his music and his performances; and
WHEREAS, Mahi‘ai Beamer’s musical integrity is demonstrated by the special emphasis he placed on the importance of remaining true to a composer’s work, whether it be the music of his grandmother or that of another composer; and
WHEREAS, Mahi‘ai Beamer was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hawai‘i Academy of Recording Arts in 1991, and in 1993, the David Malo Award by the Honolulu Rotary Club, and in 2000, the Kahili Award for performing arts; and
WHEREAS, in 2004, “Hawai‘i’s Mahi Beamer” was selected as one of the 50 greatest Hawai‘i record albums, he was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 2006, designated a Living Treasure of Hawai‘i by the Honpa Hongwanji in 2008, and received the Kalani Ali‘i Award presented by the ‘Aha Hīpu‘u in 2010; and
WHEREAS, in 2015, he received the I Ulu I Ke Kumu award presented by the University of Hawai‘i, Mānoa, Hawai‘inuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, for extraordinary commitment and excellence in native Hawaiian education; and
WHEREAS, Mahai‘ai Beamer was initiated into Hale O Nā Ali‘i O Hawai‘i, Hālau ‘O Wahīika‘ahu‘ula, Helu ‘Ekahi on October 6, 1996, making him a member in good standing for nearly 21 years; and
WHEREAS, Mahi‘ai Beamer served his ‘Ahahui, Hale O Nā Ali‘i O Hawai‘i as its musical and choral director from 1998 to 2005, and was the leader of the ‘Ahahui’s Lei Mamo Serenaders; and
WHEREAS, Mahi‘ai Beamer was granted Honorary Membership into the Kuini Pi‘olani Hawaiian Civic Club; and
WHEREAS, Mahi‘ai Beamer gave of himself unconditionally to the people of Hawai‘i; and
WHEREAS, God in His infinite wisdom has seen fit to call unto Himself our beloved member, leaving a great void.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs at its 58th Annual Convention in Seattle, Washington, in the malama of ʻIkuwā and the rising of Māhealani, this 4th day of November 2017, remembering Hawai‘i’s masterful falsetto singer, recording artist and Hawaiian music exponent Edwin Mahi‘ai Copp Beamer; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to the Princess Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawānanakoa, Helen Sunbeam Beamer, Nālani Kele, Marmionett Ka‘aihue, Gaye K. Kapo‘oloku Beamer, the Kamehameha School Archives, as well as the Governor of the State of Hawai‘i, President of the State Senate, Speaker of the State House of Representatives, Chair of the State Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the State House Committee on Ocean, Marine Resources & Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and all County Mayors.
The undersigned hereby certifies that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted in the malama of ʻIkuwā and the rising of Māhealani on the 4th day of November 2017, at the 58th Annual Convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs in Seattle, Washington.
Annelle C. Amaral, President
