“Hawai'i Pono'i” was the national anthem of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. (Hawaiʻi is the only U.S. state that was once a kingdom with its own monarchy.) The lyrics were composed by Hawaii’s last king, David Kalākaua, in 1874, with music by his royal bandmaster, Henri Berger. (Hawaii’s last monarch was his successor, Queen Liliʻuokalani.) Even after the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893, the song has been its anthem, and was proclaimed Hawaiʻi’s state anthem in 1967.

“The Star Spangled Banner” is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics were composed by Francis Scott Key in 1814, with music drawn from a popular British song by John Stafford Smith. It was proclaimed the official U.S. anthem in 1931.

This arrangement by Daniel Ho joins these two anthems in parallel. It was debuted in 2018 at The Staples Center, Los Angeles, to open a Clippers basketball game, and was performed by Daniel Ho and Hālau Hula Kealiʻi O Nālani. When Daniel was invited to perform the national anthem at the event, he said he “wanted to do something special that also represented Hawaiʻi.”

In short, this arrangement pairs two languages, cultures, and nations, and speaks to the rich and complex tapestry that is The United States of America.

Immediately after purchase, you can download a .zip file that includes the following digital files...

Star Spangled Banner/Hawaii Ponoʻi Audio Master
This 44.1 khz, 24-bit AIFF file is the original audio master. The quality of this file is higher than CD audio (which is 44.1 khz, 16-bit)

Star Spangled Banner/Hawaii Ponoʻi Audio File
This is a traditional .mp3 audio file for use with mobile devices such as iPod, iPhone, etc.

Star Spangled Banner/Hawaii Ponoʻi Sheet Music, a 4-page PDF that includes

• complete sheet music including TAB for ʻukulele

• and vocal parts for 2 alto and 1 tenor voice

Also available on iTunes