Raiatea Helm will sing songs from her acclaimed album “A Legacy Of Hawaiian Song & String Volume One” with the Pops Orchestra. Courtesy photo

For her upcoming “Nā Mele o Hawai’i” concert with the Maui Pops Orchestra on March 23, Raiatea Helm will concentrate on songs from her recent acclaimed album “A Legacy Of Hawaiian Song & String Volume One.”

Celebrating Hawaiian music and poetry from the late 19th and early 20th century, Helm’s marvelous album was the major winner at the 47th Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards, earning seven awards including Album of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Hawaiian Music Album of the Year, Hawaiian Language Performance and Haku Mele.

“The majority of the (concert) repertoire is based off of the album,” says Helm. “It’s cool because it kicks off a tour doing a lot of the music off the album. This one with the orchestra will just be myself. It won’t be with the band that I take on the road. The following day, we go to Kauai for a performance and then head off to California and Virginia and some other places in the fall.”

“A Legacy Of Hawaiian Song & String Volume One” included the first Hawaiian national anthem, “He Mele Lahui Hawaii,” by Queen Lili’uokalani, along with “Moani Ke ʻAla” by Prince William Pitt Leleiohoku, and “Lanakila Kawaihau” and “Nuʻuanu Waipuna” by the Royal Hawaiian Band’s Mekia Kealakai, which Helm will all perform in concert with the Pops, under guest conductor Joseph Stepec.

The concert at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center will also feature Halau O Ka Hanu Lehua, with Kumu Hula Kamaka Kukona.

The historical significance of the album has inspired a documentary set for May broadcast, which will go national.

“PBS Hawaii is going to release a 90-minute documentary, which I’m narrating, focusing on this history, so it’s really good timing,” she explains. “It pretty much covers the album and segues with the history. I think it helps to complete the whole picture.”

Helm collaborated on the project with Ki-Lan Reece, the director of the nonprofit Kealakai Center for Pacific Strings. “He inspired a lot of this project being a historian,” she explains. “He shared the huge piece of the puzzle in which Hawaiian musicians at the turn of the century, during the Hawaiian Kingdom era, influenced a lot of music in the world and especially modern American music.”

The upcoming documentary features some “amazing contributors, including Kimo Keaulana, who is a wonderful resource,” she says. “It’s a different way to share the music, but it’s very important to share this truth and this history, and these songs.”

Along with Maui’s Jeff Peterson on guitar, “Legacy,” included some Nashville players like Grammy winner Rob Ikes on dobro, “and two fiddle players who play at the Grand Ole Opry,” she notes. “They truly believe in this history, that it was the Hawaiians that introduced the steel guitar to country music, the different types of tuning and styles.”

Before she graduated high school on Molokai at the age of 17, Helm recorded the remarkable debut album “Far Away Heaven,” which captured Hōku Awards in 2003 for Female Vocalist of the Year and Most Promising Artist. She continued to win Hōkus for the subsequent albums, “Sweet and Lovely,” and “He Leo Huali, A Pure Voice,” and was the first solo female vocalist from Hawaii to receive a Grammy nomination.

Heralded early in her career as a successor to such Hawaiian female falsetto legends as Lena Machado and Aunty Genoa Keawe, she has expanded her love for Hawaiian music as a teacher at Windward Community College.

Recently on Facebook, Helm posted a marvelous, insightful description about the essence of singing Hawaiian music.

“The tone that makes Hawaiian music unique is deeply connected to the cultural and emotional depth of the mele (song),” she wrote. “It’s not just about the notes you sing, it’s about how you deliver them with intention, sensitivity, and an understanding of the poetry behind the lyrics. This tone is often warm, resonant, and fluid, reflecting the natural beauty and storytelling tradition of Hawaiʻi. It carries a certain humility and presence, which adds an emotional texture that transcends technical ability alone.”

“It’s from the heart,” she says about her post. “All of this sharing and expressing my thoughts is that I’ve learned to become vulnerable in my role as a teacher. It’s amazing what can happen if you put yourself in a vulnerable situation.

“I think as far as the tone, I am very grateful that I was able to spend enough time in Hawaiian music, and getting to hear the different voices from the early 1900s, and just seeing how music has evolved through the decades, and recognizing those unique elements within Hawaiian music that makes it special. There are certain sounds that resonate that make it authentic to Hawaiian. That’s something I’m passionate about. I want to make sure that I can do my part in educating others and also making room for new styles, but guiding our next generation.”

After being bestowed with so many awards for “A Legacy Of Hawaiian Song & String Volume One,” she has thought about recording a sequel. “We’ll probably do something, maybe at the end of 2026,” she says. But first we will likely hear a Christmas album, and then a jazz collection. “I still have to do my Christmas album before I do a jazz album, so cross my fingers.”

First performing with an orchestra with Matt Catingub and the Honolulu Symphony Pops, Helm is looking forward to her Maui Pops concert. “It just takes the music to a different level,” she says. “It’s a whole new experience. Given this opportunity to collaborate, it’s a great one.”

The “Nā Mele o Hawai’i” concert with Helm and the Maui Pops Orchestra will be presented at 3 p.m. March 23 at the MACC’s Castle Theater. Tickets are $22, $35, $55 and $65, plus applicable fees.