Kimberly Hope Releases 1st Album

By Léo Azambuja

Kimberly Hope

A few years ago, a young Kaua‘i musician playing the violin was turning heads while performing covers in the streets during the crowded Kapa‘a Art Walk on first Saturdays. People often wondered who that high-school girl was whose music reached deep into their hearts with every song she played.

Well, Kimberly Hope grew up, left to the Mainland to pursue a music degree, returned to Kaua‘i and continued to turn heads with her violin. The difference now is that she plays her own original music. And last month, she released an album with a dozen songs of her own.

“This is my very first album. Basically, I’ve been working on it for about seven years. I started playing in art walks and performing around the island when I was a senior in high school,” Hope said.

During those early days of street performances, people would approach Hope and ask her if she had a CD. At that time, she said, she had never thought of recording an album; she was just playing covers. But those people inspired her, and she started writing her own songs while still in high school.

Last year, the 26-year-old Wailua resident finally put together a dozen songs that she wanted in an album. She first started recording with Ariki Foster, and then with Ron Pendragon. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, their work slowed down a bit.

“It probably would have been done last year,” Hope said of her first album. “But because of the pandemic, I couldn’t really go to (Pendragon’s) house, and actually sit down with him and tell him exactly what I wanted. We had to email back and forth, so that took longer.”

Kimberly Hope at the recording studio. Contributed photo

Besides being available as a CD, Hope’s album, titled Kimberly Hope, is also accessible for streaming across several online platforms, such as Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes and Amazon Music.

The album was carefully crafted to tell a story, with each song advancing to a new level of healing, evolution and self-discovery. The first songs deal with darker themes and overcoming struggles, while the themes of the songs carefully progress to enlightenment and self-fulfillment.

The first track is called Shipwrecked; a song to overcome loneliness. The second track, Haunted, acknowledges our fears and insecurities — and helps us to face them. The tracks’ sequence continues with Look Inside, One and Only, Just Believe, Rise Up, Breakthrough, Recovery (composed to help Hope’s grandmother heal from an accident), Find Yourself, Light Up The Dark, and Shine (a song to inspire us to become the best version of ourselves). The last track, Before You Go, is an upbeat performance to send you home with a touch of happiness.

“It’s been a dream, mainly because I want to share positive music with people in the world. That’s mainly what music therapy is,” said Hope, who first got into college seeking a degree in music therapy. Along her journey, she changed her degree to violin performance.

Hope said one of her main sources of inspiration comes from Lindsey Stirling, a violinist who mixes it up a lot, doing dubstep, electronic music, covers and her own songs.

Kimberly Hope

“That just inspired me to actually try to be my own artist as well, write my own music and see where it goes or takes me,” Hope said.

She is hoping this new album will open more opportunities for her to keep writing, and perhaps help her to get into other branches of the entertainment industry, such as TV and film.

“I just wanted to share music with people. That’s what I’m all about,” Hope said.

An interesting fact about the violin, is that it produces sounds that are the closest to the human voice than any other instrument, according to Hope.

“Maybe that’s why it touches people in a different way,” she said. It’s not uncommon for people to cry while listening to her performances — and it’s not from sadness. Her music awakens people’s emotions.

“What I love about it is that you can do so many different dynamics, you can play so many different volume levels,” she said. “You can do so many things with just one bow and the violin, it’s very dynamic.”

Hope’s affair with the violin goes back many years. She first picked up the violin when she was 10 years old. At that time, her family had relocated from the Big Island, where she was born, to St. Louis, Missouri. In fifth grade, she decided to join the school’s orchestra with a violin, a choice that surprised her whole family — no one in her family played the violin.

“I fell in love with it. As soon as I picked it up, I just practiced. My parents never had to tell me to practice. I just wanted to soak it all up like I was a sponge. Basically, I just wanted to keep learning,” Hope said.

Her family moved to Kaua‘i in 2008. Hope’s fears of having to put the violin aside quickly disappeared; she promptly found teachers once here. In 2013, Hope graduated from Island School and started her journey at The College of Wooster in Ohio. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music Degree in Violin Performance in 2017, and was ready to come home.

Kimberly Hope

“After I graduated, I came back here, and that’s when I was even more inspired to try and make my album,” Hope said.

The expressive, spirited violinist has performed in events all over Hawai‘i, including concerts, fashion shows, county fairs and fundraisers. She also has played at weddings, art walks, farmers markets, malls, schools, restaurants, hospitals and nursing homes. Additionally, she has performed alongside Hawaiian slack key legends, Broadway stars, world-renowned pianists and Grammy-nominated and Na Hoku Hanohano award-winning Hawaiian bands.

Hope manages her music career through her business, Kimberly Hope Music LLC.

“Basically, it’s performing, teaching music lessons, composing, writing music, making videos, and just putting myself out there as an artist,” she said.

You can request an autographed Kimberly Hope CD by emailing Hope at kimberlyhopemusic@gmail.com. Visit kimberlyhope.hearnow.com to listen and purchase the album. You can also contact Hope at kimberlyhopemusic.com or through (facebook.com/kimberlyhopemusic/), Instagram (instagram. com/kimberlyhopemusic/) or Twitter (twitter.com/kimberlyhopemus).

Subscribe to her YouTube account (youtube.com/channel/ UCWZHsiUmQUnag02YhbmhGdg) to watch her videos and to find out when she will be live streaming an album-release party this month.