Na Mele: Queen Emma – Her Life and Legacy features traditional Hawaiian chants and songs created to honor and record the life of Queen Emma. The Queen Emma Summer Palace in Nuuanu serves as center stage. The Summer Palace, or Hānaiakamalama (nurtured by the moon) as it’s also known, was a place of respite for Queen Emma and her husband, King Kamehameha IV. Despite the tragedies in her life – the loss of her 4 year old son, Albert, and her husband, King Kamehameha IV – Queen Emma had the strength and fortitude to establish institutions that continue to serve Hawaii today: The Cathedral of St. Andrew, The Queenʻs Medical Center and St. Andrewʻs Priory School for Girls.

In the hula performance of “Aia I Nu‘uanu,” the dancers and kumu hula chant, “Aia ka nana i Nu‘uanu, I walea ‘Emalani i laila, Ka ‘olu kohai i ka makani” (There is the beauty at Nu‘uanu, such that Emalani is at ease there, comfortable, swaying in the breeze). The halau dances with the Summer Palace quietly looking over them, as if the Queen herself is observing and appreciating their hula. Also performing hula about Queen Emma and the places she loved is Hālau Haʻa Hula ʻO Kekauʻilani Nā Pua Hala O Kailua and a halau made up of students from St. Andrew’s Priory School for Girls. The Emmalani Serenaders also lend their voices to praise Queen Emma, performing Kaleleonālani and Hole Waimea.

Leslie Wilcox, PBS Hawaii President and CEO, will host the program, alongside special guests from the Daughters of Hawai‘i, St. Andrew’s Priory, and The Cathedral of St. Andrew.

Original air date: Sun., June 7, 7:00 pm