It’s been 6 months since Jake Shimabukuro performed before a live audience. The ukulele virtuoso was supposed to play the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on March 14, but he had to cancel the day before the show because of coronavirus infection concerns.

Performing annually at the MACC, Shimabukuro has fond memories of spending time on Maui.

“I took my first trip to Maui when I was in high school, and I absolutely loved it,” he said. “And we spent a lot of time on Molokai because my grandparents were from there. As a kid, I remember every time a family member would go to Maui they had to bring back Guri Guri ice cream. I have a lot of family on Maui now from my wife’s side.”

With the ongoing pandemic, Shimabukuro has presented a few virtual performances, played a lot of indoor basketball with his kids and spent time taking them fishing.

In late August, he debuted a new series of ukulele lessons on the prestigious MasterClass education platform. It’s a golden opportunity to study ukulele techniques with a master.

MasterClass features online courses taught by some of the most respected people in various fields. After the pandemic hit, subscriptions surged and it was even parodied on “Saturday Night Live” with a “Quarantine Edition.”

You can study singing with Christina Aguilera, jazz lessons with Herbie Hancock, the “heart and soul of guitar” with Carlos Santana, take acting classes with Samuel L. Jackson and Natalie Portman, and study comedy with Steve Martin and Judd Apatow.

Shimabukuro was a fan of the site before he was invited to participate.

“I was so honored when they asked me to do it because I had been a fan of their content for a long time. I bought a full subscription early last year and watched Herbie Hancock and went down the list, and I loved Itzhak Perlman’s class. It’s so inspiring.”

Introduced as “the king of ukulele,” he opens his 20-lesson series announcing: “the thing I love most about the ukulele is it’s not intimidating. I promise if you have a couple of fingers to spare and know how to count you will learn how to play this instrument.”

Accessible to beginners and advanced players, it begins with some fundamentals and moves on to strumming techniques, and then how to navigate various aspects like capturing harmonics and developing your own sound.

“We filmed it in January and February this year, then the lockdown happened,” he explained. “My approach is more philosophical, more the mental aspect and the mindset, giving the tools so anyone can take their own journey.”

For ukulele fans, one of the most valuable lessons illustrates how he arranged his solo rendition of Queen’s complex classic “Bohemian Rhapsody.” When he gets to the “opera” section, he offers, “now we’re going to have fun.”

“I really enjoyed talking about the process of putting that together. That was definitely not an easy one. It was quite daunting.”

A highlight of his “Peace Love Ukulele” album, he debuted “Bohemian Rhapsody” at a TEDx conference.

“They asked me to speak, and the theme was ‘What the World Needs Now,’ ” he recalled. “That’s when I said, if everyone played the ukulele the world would be a better place, the world needs more ukuleles. They wanted me to play something, so that’s when I started on the arrangement of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ That was the first time performing that piece. I was so nervous. In front of me was Al Gore, Glenn Close, Bill Gates and Paul Simon.”

Shimabukuro’s MasterClass is a hit. Having helped popularize the ukulele around the world, folks are jumping at the opportunity to take lessons from him.

“I just heard that since the release last week there are almost 30,000 subscribers for my class,” he said. “Hopefully, the ukulele continues to grow in popularity.”

Comments on Facebook include: “I’ve watched his MasterClass, and it’s awesome” and “I was never really interested in guitar or ukulele until this. It’s so unique and creative.”

Excited to share his knowledge, Shimabukuro hopes the lessons “show how much fun the instrument is, and people get a sense of joy that music can bring.”

In October, he had planned to release his latest album, “Jake and Friends,” featuring duets with musicians like Willie Nelson, Bette Midler, Ziggy Marley, Michael McDonald, Jon Anderson of Yes fame, Vince Gill and Amy Grant, Jack Johnson with Paula Fuga and Lukas Nelson.

“It’s all done but because of the shutdown, we decided to postpone to next year,” he said. “I’m so proud of this project. I can’t wait for people to hear it.”

We’re going to have to wait for a while to hear him playing ukulele backing Nelson singing “Stardust” and Midler on “The Rose.”

“To hear Willie Nelson’s voice just with the ukulele accompanying him or to hear Bette Midler singing ‘The Rose’ over the ukulele, it blows my mind,” he said. “Vince Gill and Amy Grant did a duet of ‘Something,’ it’s one of my favorites. I would want to get married again to my wife just so I could dance to that. You never hear it as a duet.”

As for the Michael McDonald track, he accompanies Shimabukuro playing ukulele and singing the old Moody Blues’ hit “Go Now.” “He plays a baritone, I play a tenor. It’s another one of my favorites,” Shimabukuro said.

The project is co-produced by Ray Benson of the Texas band Asleep at the Wheel. “When we started, he said, ‘Let’s get Willie Nelson on board.’ Once we got Willie in the studio it was so easy to get everybody else,” he said.

Along with the star-studded compilation, he’s been working on a Hawaii duets collection, which so far includes Henry Kapono, Raiatea Helm, Brother Noland and Kawika Kahiapo, and will likely include Maui’s Vince Esquire.

“We’ve always talked about doing something together,” he said. “I definitely want him on it.”

Before he headed out solo, Shimabukuro performed with Jon Yamasato and Lopaka Colon in the Hoku-winning trio Pure Heart. Communicating during the pandemic, the musicians decided to re-team for a new album.

“We’re like let’s get back in the studio and do something,” he revealed. “So we’re working on a Pure Heart record.”

Shimabukuro’s ukulele classes are available at www.masterclass.com/jakeshimabukuro. It costs $180 for an annual pass, which provides access to every class by every teacher on the platform. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee.