Hawaiian Music Archives
@ Hawaiʻi State Archives
Launched in 2022, this ambitious public-private partnership is building a uniquely accessible collection that seeks to honor Hawai’i’s rich cultural legacy by documenting all aspects of Hawaiian music on an unprecedented scale.
The partnership between the Hawai’i State Archives, ‘Ukulele Foundation of Hawai’i, Ukulele Hall of Fame, ‘Ukulele Guild of Hawai’i, Kealakai Center for Pacific Strings, ‘Ōlelo Community Media, Honokaʻupu ‘Ukulele Collection, Line Studio and other partners is international in scope, reflecting the enduring popularity of the ‘ukulele and Hawaiian music around the world.
Much of the material in the archives–which already includes tens of thousands of music recordings, piano rolls, hundreds of historic ‘ukulele, sheet music, songbooks and methods, photographs, strings and tuners, and the personal papers of key figures in Hawaiian music–was previously locked away in private collections.
Today we are in the process of indexing, cataloging and–in the case of our historic instruments–repairing the collection, parts of which already are available to the public online and in the Archives Public Research Room.
For more information, view ‘Ōlelo Community Media’s “The Hawaiian Music Archives: Ukulele Talk Story,”
See our About and Partners pages or contact the Hawaiian Music Archives at [email protected].
Follow us on Facebook and/or Instagram for project updates @HawaiianMusicArchives