Tuesday Student Takeover: Keira Ida Ayu
By Sharene Keliʻipunilei Lum Taba
October 20, 2026 at 4:47 PM HST
Waiākea High School senior Keira Ida Ayu is on a mission to bring the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra to Hawaiʻi Island.
Ayu, a percussionist with Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony and a fellow with the Center for Tomorrow's Leaders Fellows Program, conceived the idea in her sophomore-year entrepreneurship class. Assigned with identifying and solving a problem in the community, she found that widespread music education on Hawaiʻi Island was limited. A musician herself, believing in the power of live music to inspire and connect communities, she started a petition to have HSO perform for both keiki and adults on Hawaiʻi Island. The petition’s success led Ayu to organize HSO’s visit as her senior project. The orchestra will perform at a community concert and two educational concerts on March 4-5, 2027, at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
Ayu is tasked with event fundraising and logistics, including coordinating schools across the island to attend the educational concerts, arranging transport and securing large instruments for the local performances. She has been collecting pledges from local businesses, friends, family and community supporters through her website. Supporters and event attendees can learn more about the project, its fundraising goals and concert details at mokuokeawemusic.org.
Ayu, a percussionist with Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony and a fellow with the Center for Tomorrow's Leaders Fellows Program, conceived the idea in her sophomore-year entrepreneurship class. Assigned with identifying and solving a problem in the community, she found that widespread music education on Hawaiʻi Island was limited. A musician herself, believing in the power of live music to inspire and connect communities, she started a petition to have HSO perform for both keiki and adults on Hawaiʻi Island. The petition’s success led Ayu to organize HSO’s visit as her senior project. The orchestra will perform at a community concert and two educational concerts on March 4-5, 2027, at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
Ayu is tasked with event fundraising and logistics, including coordinating schools across the island to attend the educational concerts, arranging transport and securing large instruments for the local performances. She has been collecting pledges from local businesses, friends, family and community supporters through her website. Supporters and event attendees can learn more about the project, its fundraising goals and concert details at mokuokeawemusic.org.