Tuesday Student Takeover

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.

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.

During Spring Break, the award-winning Honokaʻa Jazz Band performed at the Kahilu Theatre in Waimea before heading to Oʻahu. Band director Gary Washburn and his students join Classical Pacific host Sharene Taba for a closer look at the dedicated musicians behind this Grammy Signature School program.

Seabury Hall pianist Cassie Goldyn and her sister Bobby started a nonprofit: a tuition-free choir on Maui that performs for kūpuna, brightening their day with the sharing of music. Inspired by visits with her grandmother, Cassie — who has been playing the piano since age 4 — has found a way to turn her hard work and joy into others' happiness.

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.

Musician, producer, and singer-songwriter Deanna Wen is a senior at Punahou School. She first visited us in 2023 and returned in 2024—each time bringing new music, insightful advice, and her mentor, Mr. Duane Padilla. Always experimenting, creating, and challenging herself, Deanna will attend Claremont McKenna College in the fall, swimming and continuing her adventures.

In the week leading up to National Decision Day—the deadline for students to commit to a college—Nicholas Hoshida visits Classical Pacific, excited to begin his next chapter as a music performance major. The ʻIolani senior reflects on his journey with the trombone, the ensembles he's played in, the music he's grown to love and the lessons he's learned along the way.

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.

Moanalua Middle School's Chamber Strings students share their thoughts on working together and the experience of playing in an ensemble. Orchestra Director Chad Uyehara speaks with Classical Pacific about listening, balance and respect in an ensemble where students support one another and have fun making music together.