hawaii youth symphony

Guitarist Broderick Nakasone graduated from ʻIolani School this past Spring, and will be attending the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Nakasone encourages music students to play the music they love. Hear Nakasone at Noel Okimotoʻs Ohana Jazz on July 31. @ohanajazzhawaii

Hawaiʻi Baptist Academy seniors Sage Shiroma and Tobias Watanabe celebrate National College Decision Day on Classical Pacific, sharing their experiences as violinists in the Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony. Shiroma and Watanabe both donʻt plan on majoring in Music in their colleges, but plan on finding their own path in continuing to make music a part of their lives.

Roosevelt High School percussionist Camden Funai grew up playing the ʻukulele and attending Royal Hawaiian Band performances. Entering the 10th grade in the Fall, Funai is a busy musician, performing with Rooseveltʻs Marching Band, Symphonic Band, and Symphony Orchestra as well as the YSI orchestra and Jazz Ensemble II of the Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony. Funaiʻs Summer Vacation has been filled with Marching Band practice and the Pacific Music Festival, performing with Wind Ensemble and Jazz I.

Mani Kovacich is a percussionist and a jazz drummer. The Kalani High School Junior studies Brazilian drumming, plays in the both YSI and Jazz I in the Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony Orchestra organization, and finds the balance easily because he prioritizes learning and improving. This summer, we can hear Kovacich at jazz jam sessions with Noel Okimotoʻs Ohana Jazz, or reading the Hawai`i Public Radio call letters when heʻs helping at HPR2.@ohanajazz

Recent University Laboratory School graduate Eli Wolf will spend his summer playing guitar before heading to Reed College this fall. He credits his dedicated teachers, friends and his mother for their support. Catch Wolfe live this summer at ʻŌhana Jazz and the Pacific Music Institute.

Virtuoso violinist Yxing Guo of Honolulu graduated last week from the Colburn Music Academy, where she attended the pre-college program during her junior and senior years of high school. This fall, she will return to attend the Colburn Conservatory of Music. Hear from this From the Top alum on this edition of Tuesday Student Takeover.

Jodie Wung, a senior at Mililani High School, is a cellist with the Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony’s YSI orchestra and the first-place winner in cello performance at the Elite International Music Competition. Following her performance in the Winners Recital at Carnegie Hall, Classical Pacific host Sharene Taba spoke with Wung as she prepared for the youth symphony’s Aloha Concerts and her upcoming graduation.

Waiākea High School sophomore Keira Ida Ayu is a pianist, percussionist and a commuter! With the support of her dedicated family and a community of caring teachers, Ida Ayu is able to have fun, grow, and give back to others.

Joe Stepec, director of orchestral activities with the Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony (HYS), visits Classical Pacific to discuss the upcoming side-by-side concert with the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra (HSO) on March 12 at Blaisdell Concert Hall.

Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony celebrates 60 years of music education in the state of Hawaiʻi with a fundraiser, He Makana O Na Mele this weekend. President and CEO of HYS Randy Wong talks about the programs of the Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony and the celebration fundraiser.