The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music offers a new physical and online exhibit: “America’s Hawaiian Imaginations through Letritia Kandle and Eddie Alkire.”
Since most of the Center’s regular visitors will find it difficult to visit the Sousa Archives to see the physical exhibit, we created an engaging virtual version of this new show which we hope people will enjoy.
America’s fascination with Hawaiian culture reached its peak during the Great Depression. The country needed a temporary escape from the Depression’s daily uncertainties, and its people eagerly embraced Hawaiian music for their imaginary travels to exotic places.
Two of America’s leading performers, innovators, and educators of Hawaiian music in the 1930s and 40s were Letritia Kandle (1915-2010) and Eddie Alkire (1907-1981). This new exhibit examines the innovative teaching methods and new guitar technologies developed by Letritia Kandle and Eddie Alkire during the 1930s and 1940s.