Nonprofit helps keiki dive into their creativity through songwriting

In a newly release song recorded by beloved slack-key guitarist John Keawe, the words to “I’m Hawaiian” came from some young new songwriters: students at Kohala Elementary School in Hawi on the Big Island.

Several years ago, the students of Ms. Polly O’Donnell’s third-grade class came up with the lyrics during a program conducted by the nonprofit organization Kid Pan Alley, founded by American folk musician Paul Reisler, co-founder of Trapezoid.

The release of “Iʻm Hawaiian” is part of a larger album Reisler is putting together for the 25th anniversary of Kid Pan Alley. The album features favorite songs from a catalog of nearly 3,000 original songs written and performed with more than 65,000 U.S. schoolchildren.

“It is pretty hard to choose from this huge number of songs, but there are so many great ones from Hawaiʻi,” Reisler said. “I love writing songs here, because the kids are much different than the mainland. I have found there is less jadedness and less self-consciousness with them at the elementary school age.” 

The Kid Pan Alley catalog includes songs about almost every subject under the sun. But Hawai‘i students’ song are notably different from Reisler’s experience.

“There’s a lot more of a sense of respect for the ancestors, for nature, so the songs tend to be gentler,” Reisler said. “More about what’s happening in their families and the beauty of nature, which I really love doing.”

“Iʻm Hawaiian” dives into the subject about how a child from Hawaiʻi identifies themselves, whether itʻs through the ʻāina (land), moʻolelo (stories) or their ʻohana (family), and the special place Hawaiʻi holds in their hearts.

In the song, Keawe sings and plays guitar; Reisler plays guitar; Michael Suprenant plays the pedal steel guitar; and Ryan Benyo plays bass and percussion. The song also was written by Reisler and Heather Mae.

One verse of the song:

“The shells on the shoreline, The mountain breeze, The stories of our ancestors, The swaying palm trees. It’s perfect here in paradise, Perfect on the ʻāina. Let me tell you who I am, I’m Hawaiian.”

Kid Pan Alley first came to Hawai‘i approximately 14 years ago, when Reisler visited a good friend residing on the Big Island. The nonprofit program has since traveled regularly to schools across the state. 

“The kids really do get so excited and I think it’s because the process builds their confidence,” Reisler said. “People are listening to what they have to say, honoring their creative work and treating them with the highest professionalism.

“They create wonderful songs at a high-caliber level and it is something worthwhile every time.”

This month, Reisler has been hosting the songwriting workshops with St. Teresa, Kekaha and Alakaʻi Elementary Schools in Kauaʻi, which will culminate in a free concert at Waimea Theatre at 10 a.m. on Jan. 31.

In February, Kid Pan Alley will go to Maui for workshops with Pomaikaʻi and Kihei Elementary Schools. More information on the program and the music can be found on the Kid Pan Alley website. 

Kauaʻi Now reporter Scott Yunker contributed to this report.