Artist Mentors
Moanalani Beamer, Artist Mentor
Moanalani Beamer is a Kumu Hula (hula teacher) who began her training in 1960 at the tender age of four and graduated as a kumu hula under Kumu Kaponoʻai Molitau on Maui. She dances, chants, sings background vocals, and plays ancient Hawaiian percussive instruments as she tours extensively with her husband Keola Beamer. Besides being an excellent dancer and instructor, Moana is also a talented lei maker and has a heart as big as all of Maui.
Moanalani Beamer graced the opening of our music album Vol. 3, Na Leo o Ka Honua, Endangered Species, with the Hawaiian chant, Nā ʻAumakua, calling for our protectors and our ancestors who stand at our back and our front to teach us how to flourish under the heavens. You can hear the “voices” of all the endangered species on the album on this track. We are humbled and deeply grateful to have Moanalaniʻs strong, impassioned voice blessing this project with our Keiki of Maui. Find out more about Moanalani at kbeamer.com.
Raiatea Helm, Artist Mentor
Raiatea Helm, a two-time Grammy nominee and multiple Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards recipient, is recognized as one of Hawaii’s premier female vocalists. Among her awards, she was honored in Hawai‘i twice as Female Vocalist of the Year. A master of the art of leo kiʻe kiʻe – the Hawaiian falsetto tradition – she shares her experiences and knowledge of Hawaiʻi’s rich history through traditional mele [songs]. Her music career spans 20 years and includes seven album releases, recorded and performed with legendary musicians including Keola Beamer, Aunty Genoa Keawe, Keali’i Reichel, Willie K and Mick Fleetwood.
Her most recent album, A Legacy of Hawaiian Song and String, Volume 1, breathes new life into song selections composed, performed and popularized in the Hawaiian Islands in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Raiateaʻs latest recording presents a musical contribution of the stories, poetry and emotions of a once flourishing nation. Produced in partnership with the Kealakai Center for Pacific Strings, the music captured on this album will be remembered for generations to come. This recording recently placed #4 on Folk Alley Favorites: Best Trad of 2023 year-end roundup of “the albums that take traditional roots in new directions, ... artists that are changing the way we think about traditional music.”
A graduate of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa – she took a break from touring to earn her degree —she is the first Hawaiian Musical Artist Fellow of the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation and the 2021 awardee of the foundation’s SHIFT – Transformative Change and Indigenous Arts program
As or Artist Mentor for our Vol. 3 Album music project, Na Leo O Ka Honua, Endangered Species, When We Shine Foundation is very grateful and proud to feature Raiateaʻs elegant soprano voice alongside the 1st Grade Keiki of Pomaikaʻi Elementary School, on the song, ʻIʻiwi, a beautiful haunting melody and story tribute to this extraordinary native forest bird.
Visit Raiateaʻs Website to learn more: https://www.raiateahelm.com/
John Cruz, Artist Mentor
When We Shine Foundation is very grateful to have the support of some of Hawaiʻiʻs finest talent to serve as role models for our keiki. John so generously stepped forward to share his amazing voice on behalf of the students of Pomaikaʻi Elementary School. The first song he recorded with them in 2018 was the song, Na Maka O Ka ʻĀina, the Earth Has Eyes.
Then Covid came! The students wrote a song about how to get through it together and invited John to join them again. As lead vocalist on their wonderful song, Heart of Aloha, he took their creative efforts to the next level, inspiring us all! Mahalo Nui Loa John!
Hawaiian singer-songwriter John Cruz engages audiences with rich storytelling through songs ranging from Hawaiian to blues, folk, R&B and more. Cruz is both a GRAMMY® and Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award-winner. Captivating guitar playing, soulful vocals and a compassionate, genuine heart make Cruz one of Hawaii’s most beloved artists. On stage, he fully embodies every song with this alluring energy translating to his acclaimed albums, ‘Acoustic Soul’ (one of the best selling Hawaii records of all time) and ‘One of These Days’ (bowed at #4 on Billboard’s World Music chart) which today are streamed by millions of listeners every year. John Cruz recently released a new album, including the single entitled “It’s Time To Build A Bridge,” which is available now on all of your favorite streaming channels.
Visit John's website to learn more about his concerts and performance schedule!
