Lili’uokalani (Lydia Kamaka’eha Paki)

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Lili’uokalani (Lydia Kamaka’eha Paki)

Lili’uokalani (Lydia Kamaka’eha Paki), Hawaiian queen and composer; b. Honolulu, Sept. 2, 1838; d. there, Nov. 11, 1917. She entered the Chiefs Children’s School to study music when she was 4. She became a skillful pianist, organist, and choral director, and composed a number of attractive songs, including the popular Aloha ’oe (1878). She also wrote the Hawaiian national anthem, He mele lahui Hawaii.Her reign as queen was brief (1891–93); she was removed by American interests.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire