Tuesday Student Takeover

Mazzy Meers stars in Diamond Head Theatreʻs "Piney Needlesmith and the Road Less Traveled." The ʻIolani School fourth-grader and member of DHT's Shooting Stars offers a glimpse into the life of a young actor.

Oliver Lucas is a ninth grader and vibraphonist at Mid-Pacific Institute who enjoys the creativity of improvisation. In this episode of “Tuesday Student Takeover,” Lucas shares the music that inspires him and offers advice for younger students, with a focus on music, school and family.

Four seniors were chosen for this yearsʻ Class of 2026 Punahou Concerto Showcase: Swan Kim (viola), Albert Ko (viola), Max Shinno (violin), and Rylan Terayama (violin).

During this stressful time of writing essays, applying to colleges and making decisions on majors, advice from musicians at college is here to reassure you that you got this. Stephanie Walsh, Director of College Counseling at Seabury Hall and Director of Bands at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, Jeffrey Boeckman join musicians Tea (UH-Manoa), Bao (CalTech), Leia (BYU Provo) and Matin (SFCM).

Violinist Frida Boeker returns to Tuesday Student Takeover in this update from 2 years ago. Now a 9th grader at King Kekaulike H.S., Boeker is a member of Maui Youth Philharmonic Orchestra (MYPO) and YSII Orchestra of the Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony.

Aleeya Cantor-Charles is a ballet dancer at the Alexander Academy of Performing Arts on Maui. The King Kekaulike High School senior has been dancing at the Alexander Academy since she was 3 years old, where the teachers made dance and learning fun. This year will be her third Nutcracker. Her past roles include Arabian Coffee, The Columbine Doll, The Snow Queen, and this year, The Sugar Plum Fairy.

Mid-Pacific Institute sophomore, Dan Golub is a saxophonist and a journalist with his school newspaper, Na Pueo. Introduced to jazz masters by his father, Golub brings an incredible playlist and great advice to student musicians in this Tuesday Student Takeover.

Sisters Emma Belatti and Elyana Belatti join "Classical Pacific" host Sharene Taba in a conversation about growing up in ballet. The dancers with Ballet Hawaii will be in this weekendʻs performance of A Night at the Paris Opera Ballet, bringing the paintings of Mary Cassatt to life at the Honolulu Museum of Art. Emma is at the University of Hawai`i-Manoa, minoring in dance, and Ely is in the 10th grade at Roosevelt High School. The sisters have their own paths in life, but they always include dance, and each other.

A harpist with Hawai`i Youth Symphonyʻs YSI orchestra, Arabella Tan recently participated in a summer STEM program at MIT and is back home to work on WikiVisionʻs upcoming fundraising concert at ʻIolaniʻs Seto Hall. The free concert features student performers and raises money through donations to help uninsured and underinsured patients cover cataract surgery and post-op support.

Double bassist Taiga Benito has appeared on NPR's "From the Top" with both the Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony and the 4U ʻUkulele Quartet. A member of the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra and a Moanalua High School alum, Benito shares a glimpse into college life as a music major.