Students Perform with Hawaiian Music Icons in Free Concert

Students in the Institute of Hawaiian Music playing at the Fairmont Kea Lani as part of the Aloha Friday Summer Concert series. Courtesy photo, UHMC.

By Wendy  Osher

Talented students from the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College’s Institute of Hawaiian Music will perform alongside their musical mentors in a free end of the month concert in Wailea.

The summer outdoor event will be held on Friday, August 31 from 5 to 6 p.m. at The Fairmont Kea Lani’s Palm Court.

The concert features both traditional and contemporary music, and includes slack-key guitar, ukulele, keyboard, vocals and hula.

Mentor musicians scheduled to perform include four-time Grammy award-winner George Kahumoku, Jr., Kevin and Sheldon Brown, and Richard Ho’opi’i.

“The students are really coming along—we had to turn people away at the door when they played at the MACC for their first showcase in May,” said George Kahumoku, Jr. “The free concerts over the summer at the Fairmont are giving them even more experience playing live. And this show August 31st is going to be the best yet.”

The  Institute of Hawaiian Music at UHMC is dedicated to the perpetuation and preservation of Hawaiian music.  The college’s IHM academy offers students the unique opportunity to form a musical mentorship with professional Hawaiian musicians.

The curriculum takes students from the beginning of their musical training to their career debut, offering classes in guitar, ukulele, singing, keyboard, composition, music theory, repertoire development, dance, music industry business and marketing, and recording.

School officials say students are also required to complete courses in Hawaiian studies and Hawaiian language to understand the cultural roots of their art.

***Supporting information courtesy UHMC.