Grammy Winner Coming to Blackwood

A ukulele craze is sweeping the nation, and the world for that matter. The tiny, four-string instrument has been flying off the shelves of music stores. Ukulele chat rooms abound on the internet. And ukulele meet up clubs have popped up in southern New Jersey, Philadelphia, and the Main Line.

Riding the wave of the ukulele’s popularity is one of the instrument’s most accomplished musicians, Daniel Ho. Hailing from Los Angeles, CA, this six-time Grammy award winner has not traveled to the East Coast in four years. However, on Nov. 18, he’ll be in Gloucester Township teaching a ukulele workshop and presenting a concert for Mainstage Center for the Arts. Alan Okami, president of KoAloha Ukulele, will co-instruct the workshop.

“In the last few years, interest in the ukulele has taken off all over the world,” Ho said. “I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to share new music with a wider audience in the Philadelphia region. In addition to the ukulele, this includes songs on the piano and Hawaiian slack key guitar.”

Ho is a skilled musician on several instruments, a composer and the founder of an independent record label, Daniel Ho Creations. His credits include singing Prince’s "Nothing Compares 2U" in Hawaiian for the feature film “Forgetting Sarah Marshall," performing as keyboardist and guitarist for Grammy Award-winning vocalist, Peabo Bryson, as well as his widely covered ukulele instrumental anthem, "Pineapple Mango."

Ho got his start as a child growing up in Hawaii, where his musical inclinations were apparent at an early age. His first instruments were organ and ukulele, from which he graduated to classical guitar, piano, electric guitar, bass, drums, and, eventually, voice.

Ho credits two people with helping him develop such a wide range of talent—his father, Arthur, and his high school music teacher, Ray Wessinger.

“My father was very supportive of my passion and encouraged me to take any music lessons I wanted,” said Ho. “My teacher had retired from working in California at MGM in its heyday of the big band era. He moved to Hawaii, became a music teacher and, eventually, my mentor. Mr. Wessinger explained that if you want to make a career in music, that you should know every aspect of it.”

After graduating high school, Ho left Hawaii to study composing, arranging and film scoring at the Grove School of Music in Los Angeles. His professional career began in 1990 as the leader, keyboardist, composer, and producer for Kilauea, a contemporary jazz group. By 1997, Kilauea had released six chart-topping albums, two of which hit the Top 10 on Billboard's jazz charts.

Over the last decade, he’s rediscovered the ukulele.

“The ukulele makes you smile when you play or hear it,” said Ho. “It’s convenient, you can carry it anywhere; it’s easy to learn and inexpensive. I think those are the main reasons people find it engaging.”

Ho’s favorite ukuleles, and the only brand he uses, are KoAloha Ukuleles.

“A KoAloha sound much larger than its physical size. To me, its tone is similar to a classical guitar,” said Ho.

Philadelphia film maker, director, performance artist and songwriter Gary San Angel has created a film series about KoAloha Ukuleles and Alvin Okami, who started the company. The second part of that series, “My KoAloha Story,” will be featured at the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival on Saturday, Nov. 17. In that documentary Ho and others from throughout the country discuss their KoAloha experience.

“The second film developed out of reaction to the first one, which was an animated documentary about Alvin Okami and how he started KoAloha Ukuleles,“ said San Angel. “After seeing the first film, so many people sent me comments sharing their experience with KoAloha that I was compelled to create a sequel demonstrating not only how the Okami family crafts the highest quality ukuleles, but also how the ukulele blends music and family and has the power to change lives and bring people together.”

Ho’s traveling to the East Coast for the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival. After the screening of “My KoAloha Story,” he’ll present a “talk story” discussion and mini-concert there. The following day, he’ll present the workshop and full concert for Mainstage Center for the Arts. The ukulele workshop will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 18, at Mainstage’s Academy Hall, located at 27 S. Black Horse Pike, Blackwood. The concert, which will feature instrumental pieces, as well as songs in English and Hawaiian, begins at 7:30 p.m. at Dennis Flyer Theatre, located inside Lincoln Hall at Camden County College's Blackwood campus.

"I’m looking forward to sharing my love of ukulele with others through both the workshop and concert,” Ho said.

To purchase tickets to these events, visit Mainstage's website. Those interested in learning more about Daniel Ho can find more information at his website.