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I want to thank my friends and especially my amazing family for their continual support and encouragement towards pursuing and sharing my music. It has been a rapid unfolding since August of 2013 when I got my first ukelele and began this exciting journey of discovering my musical gifts.
I feel new parts of myself uncovered and enlivened now that music has become a focus in my life. It brings me so much joy and I see it ripple out to those I share it with. I have found a gift. It is a gift for me, and a gift to give away and share with others. My intention is to be my vulnerable authentic self and inspire others to have the courage to express themselves creatively too. My wish is for people to be gentle with themselves in their vulnerability. To find the courage to move through their fears and discover what's beyond them. For me, this simple yet challenging act is changing my life. |
A bit about the beginning of my musical journey.....
I spent most of my life feeling timid of expressing myself through music until my niece 'Iva was born on March 11th, 2013. Her birth changed my life. I wanted to expose her to music from a young age and share the gift of music with her as a way to connect and express.
It's still a mystery to me why I never started to develop the confidence to express myself through music until recently. I want my niece to grow up feeling supported and encouraged to explore music or anything else she develops an interest in. I hope to be an inspiration to her and anyone who has ever wanted to do something or be something but felt scared and shy. Anytime I'm feeling nervous to sing in front of others I just think of 'Iva and the confident role model I want to be.
I recorded my first song within the first few months of meeting her using the GarageBand program in my computer. This was before I played an instrument so I pieced together guitar loops from the program and then recorded my vocal tracks op top to create "The 'Iva Song".
I got my first ukelele at the end of that August so I could learn songs to share with her the next time I would see her that winter during her first trip to the USA. She lives far away in the Kingdom of Tonga which is in the South Pacific near Fiji and New Zealand. We bonded through music during the 5 weeks we were together and it was heartbreaking when she left.
My music became my therapy. I shed tears of grief and tears of joy and just kept playing my uke and singing. By her 1st birthday in March 2014 I had completed my first recorded collection of 8 songs titled "Tokotaha" as my gift to her. Tokotaha is a Tongan word for 'one'.
I played my first open mic on the night that I finished the final edits of "Tokotaha" and have been working towards putting myself out there musically and gaining confidence....yes, in that order. I've learned that it can be hugely valuable to acknowledge and respect your fears but to put them aside temporarily to discover what's beyond them. It's been challenging and uncomfortable at times but the more I move through it, the more support and encouragement I get; and the more confident and uniquely expressive I become!
It's still a mystery to me why I never started to develop the confidence to express myself through music until recently. I want my niece to grow up feeling supported and encouraged to explore music or anything else she develops an interest in. I hope to be an inspiration to her and anyone who has ever wanted to do something or be something but felt scared and shy. Anytime I'm feeling nervous to sing in front of others I just think of 'Iva and the confident role model I want to be.
I recorded my first song within the first few months of meeting her using the GarageBand program in my computer. This was before I played an instrument so I pieced together guitar loops from the program and then recorded my vocal tracks op top to create "The 'Iva Song".
I got my first ukelele at the end of that August so I could learn songs to share with her the next time I would see her that winter during her first trip to the USA. She lives far away in the Kingdom of Tonga which is in the South Pacific near Fiji and New Zealand. We bonded through music during the 5 weeks we were together and it was heartbreaking when she left.
My music became my therapy. I shed tears of grief and tears of joy and just kept playing my uke and singing. By her 1st birthday in March 2014 I had completed my first recorded collection of 8 songs titled "Tokotaha" as my gift to her. Tokotaha is a Tongan word for 'one'.
I played my first open mic on the night that I finished the final edits of "Tokotaha" and have been working towards putting myself out there musically and gaining confidence....yes, in that order. I've learned that it can be hugely valuable to acknowledge and respect your fears but to put them aside temporarily to discover what's beyond them. It's been challenging and uncomfortable at times but the more I move through it, the more support and encouragement I get; and the more confident and uniquely expressive I become!
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Thank you to my family and friends for your continued support and encouragement of my new musical endeavors. A very special thank you to 'Iva's Mama & Daddy: My sister Amy Halapua for her cover artwork and her husband Toni Halapua for collaborating with me on track 3 & 4. And to 'Iva of course for your cherished presence in my life that fills my heart and inspires me to embody myself more fully.
My niece 'Iva and her first uke (December 2013)