roosevelt high school

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.

Roosevelt High School senior Hunter Young is a bass clarinetist who recently earned a spot in the Oʻahu Band Directors' High School Select Band. After one of the Select Band's after-school rehearsals, we spoke with Young about his journey in band, the audition process to play in the Select Band, and the teachers who supported him along the way.

Every day after school this week, the Oʻahu Band Directors Association's Select Band has been rehearsing for their concert on Saturday. After rehearsal, in a busy student pick-up area, Classical Pacific's Sharene Taba caught up with guest conductor Professor Jay Gephart from Purdue University, OBDA Select Band Chair Mr. Rory Onishi, and Roosevelt High School senior and bass clarinetist of this year's Select Band, Hunter Young.

Cellist Brian Park performed with the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra as one of the Nā Hōkū ‘Ōpio “Young Stars” of 2024. Park has been studying with HSO's Dr Sun Chan Chang for 8 years and tells us about his decision to switch from violin to cello at a young age and the experiences that led him to the stage at the Waikīkī Shell this past summer. Roosevelt High School Music Director, Gregg Abe joined us in this conversation. Park will be attending the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in the fall.

Project-based learning may be a buzzword in education, but the idea is anything but new. Before textbooks, ancient Hawaiian traditions were passed down…