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.

In this College Edition of the Tuesday Student Takeover, ʻukulele player and Hawaiian language major Kamakahukilani Plunkett joins Classical Pacific host Sharene Taba to share her love of music and ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. A summer production and operations intern at Hawaiʻi Public Radio, Plunkett is also a member of the Hawaiian trio Kilia, featured in the Live from the Atherton – Mele Hawaiʻi Performance Series.

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.

The winners of Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestraʻs 2025 Na Hōkū ʻŌpio Music Competition, Iris Yun, harp and Lei Yao Chang, cello share their Tuesday Student Takeover. The ʻIolani graduates were both cellists and featured soloists in ʻIolani Schoolʻs Orchestra 5. They will share the stage again next week with the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra as Yun performs Gliereʻs Harp Concerto in E-flat Major, mvt I & Chang performs Dvorakʻs Cello Concerto in B minor, mvt. I. https://www.myhso.org

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

Vocalist Solomon Shumate just completed his Junior year at San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Shumate joined Tuesday Student Takeover during his first year of conservatory in 2023. Back home in Kamuela for the summer, Solomon Shumate has enjoyed college life, full of learning and performing.