KAHULUI - The University of Hawaii Maui College Institute of Hawaiian Music will hold its first Kani Ka Pila student showcase beginning at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's McCoy Studio Theater.
"I'm really proud of all the hard work the students have put into rehearsing this show," said institute coordinator and four-time Grammy winner George Kahumoku Jr. "They've all grown so much as musicians, and I'm excited to see them perform Hawaiian music in front of a large audience."
The Institute of Hawaiian Music is a two-year musical mentorship opportunity dedicated to the perpetuation and preservation of Hawaiian music through establishing mentor relationships with professional Hawaiian musicians. The institute seeks out aspiring and ambitious musicians, gives them personal training, guidance and knowledge through mentor-mentee relationships and provides exclusive opportunities to students to perform within the Hawaiian music industry.
Article Photos
Students in the University of Hawaii Maui College Institute of Hawaiian Music will hold a concert Thursday evening at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s McCoy Studio Theater. The students and their teachers are shown: (back row from left) Trisha Cabral, Stella Newman-Kaupu, Lois Whitney, Joshua Lum, Bill Emmsley, Tom Pollard, Gabe Goebbert, Axel Menezes, Brad Bordessa, Hau‘oli Kalama, Jordan Leong, Michael Kuebler, Peter Wing, Kumu Keli‘i Tau‘a and Kumu George Kahumoku; (front row from left) Kawika Aspili, Adam Bediamol, Wilson Rapozo, Leihua Kalawaia and Makana Kamahele Bahilot.
University of Hawaii Maui College photo
"This concert is the world premiere of the IHM students, and the first of many we'll enjoy in the years ahead," said UH-Maui College music professor Robert D. Wehrman. "The students have been learning together for only one semester and already we can see that our dream to preserve and promote Hawaiian music is alive and well,"
Those attending the concert may look forward to hearing a mix of ukulele, guitar, keyboards and vocals, a news release about the concert said.
The select students include Trisha Cabral, Stella Newman-Kaupu, Lois Whitney, Joshua Lum, Bill Emmsley, Tom Pollard, Gabe Goebbert, Axel Menezes, Brad Bordessa, Hau'oli Kalama, Jordan Leong, Michael Kuebler, Peter Wing, Kawika Aspili, Adam Bediamol, Wilson Rapozo, Leihua Kalawaia and Makana Kamahele Bahilot.
Tickets for the show currently are on sale through the MACC Box Office by phone at 242-7469 or online at MauiArts.org. General admission is $20, $10 for students and seniors, and free for children 12 years and under entering with a ticketed adult.
