Come join us at 11:00am as we welcome “Kumu Tati” and her haumāna (students) from the ʻEwa side of Oʻahu to share their hula traditions at Capitol Modern for #festpachawaii2024. Mahalo Kumu for spending your birthday representing our Hawaiʻi and hula heritage so very well! Hauʻoli lā hānau e Kumu Tati!
Tatiana Tseu Fox’s upbringing in a hula family perfectly exemplifies the ʻōlelo noʻeau, “Ka ʻike a ka makua, he hei na ke keiki” (The knowledge of the parent is absorbed by the child). Her first and primary kumu was her mother, Kumu Hula ʻIwalani Tseu, and the many cultural principles associated with hula were ingrained in their daily family life. Reflecting on her rearing, Tatiana realizes how fortunate she and her sisters were to have had many cultural icons frequent their home, share their moʻolelo and ʻike with them, and embrace them as one of their own. As a young child, she had the privilege of learning from her mother’s own kumu, Uncle George Naope, as well as dear family friends Auntie Manu Palama and O’Brian Eselu. As a student at Kamehameha Schools – Kapālama, she learned from and was influenced by Wayne Keahi Chang, Randie Kamuela Fong, and Holoua Stender. After high school, she continued as a student of Holoua’s student, Kaleo Trinidad. In 2013, through familial rites, her mother entrusted her with the kuleana (responsibility) of continuing their family legacy as poʻe hula (hula practitioners) and kūlana (title) of Kumu Hula. In 2015, Tatiana opened Nā Lei O Ka ʻIwa Haʻa I Ka Lani on their family property – an old plantation compound – in Honouliuli, ʻEwa, Oʻahu. Kumu Tati, as she is affectionately called, is humbled by the teachings of all that have openly shared themselves with her and her ʻohana. As such, she has embraced both the kuleana and kūlana of Kumu Hula and aims to perpetuate and build upon the teachings of all those that she has learned from so that their legacies live on for many generations to come.
Hoku Zuttermeister, of Kāne’ohe, comes from a Hawaiian family dynasty that encompasses both the hula and music communities. His great-grandmother, Kau‘i Zuttermeister penned the beloved song, “Nā Pua Lei ‘Ilima,” and his great-aunt is Kumu Hula Noe Zuttermeister. In 2008, Hōkū’s album, “‘Āina Kūpuna”, won six Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards including Hawaiian Album of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Entertainer of the Year, Hawaiian Language Performance, Most Promising New Artist and Liner Notes. Hōkū’s voice is deep and resonating, yet when he switches to the crystal-clear highs of falsetto, to the delight of his listeners, he shows the enormous vocal range that he has worked so hard at perfecting. Behind his amazing voice comes the versatility of his instrumentation. Hōkū credits his musical style to all those that have influenced him over the years. It is a style that he describes as being “Hawaiian, but with a more contemporary flair!”