Makawao resident Koakāne Mattos is the winner of the 23rd annual Richard Ho‘opi‘i Leo Ki‘eki‘e Falsetto Contest. Courtesy photo

Makawao resident Koakāne Mattos has entered the annual Richard Ho’opi’i Leo Ki’eki’e Falsetto Contest several times and learned from the experience each year.

“He embraced the judges’ feedback from past years — transforming it into growth and success that truly shone this time around,” said contest coordinator Daryl Fujiwara after Mattos was named the winner of the 23rd Richard Ho’opi’i Leo Ki’eki’e Falsetto Contest at the Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua, on Saturday, a part of the Festivals of Aloha with events through most of October.

Fujiwara said the experience and feedback from the falsetto contest are what make the competition so valuable and helps to hone future generations of singers.

“If you know someone who might be interested, encourage them to apply– or better yet, just give it a try,” Fujiwara said.

Koakāne serves as an assistant cultural ambassador at Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea.

By night, he is co-kumu hula of Hālau o ka Hanu Lehua and a member of the musical groups Kūikawā and Launa’ole.

Koakāne said many of the judges have been involved in his education at various stages in his life and that his two grandmothers Eileen Mattos and Kaui Brewster encouraged him to sing at an early age.

“That was how we passed the time,” he said.

The contest was founded to honor Richard Ho’opi’i, co-founder of the Hoʻopi’i Brothers, and to provide a championship platform to preserve Hawaii’s unique falsetto traditions.

Ho’opi’i was a Nā Hōkū Hanohano and Grammy Award winner and an NEA Folk Heritage Fellow.

Koakāne also received the Hawaiian Language Award from the Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua, which included a deluxe, two-night ocean-view stay with breakfast at Ulana Terrace, a $5,350 value.

He received the Sheldon Keahiawakea Brown Music Award.

As first-place winner, his prize package included two roundtrip tickets from Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines and a premium-grade Kanile’a Koa tenor ukulele with case valued at $2,800.

The second-place winner was Royden Kaha’i Sato Jr. of Wailuku, who received $400 in cash, a commemorative umeke, and gifts from Manaola Hawaii.

The third-place winner was Itsuki Ezawa of Chiba, Japan, who received $200, commemorative umeke and gifts from Manaola Hawaii.

The head judge was Cody Pueo Pata; ‘Ōlelo judges were Kī’ope Raymond, Ku’ulei Alcomindras; and music judges were Ikaika Blackburn and Kamaka Kukona Palakiko.