Hawaii Youth Symphony Association

The Hawaii Youth Symphony (hys), Hawaii's only statewide Youth orchestra program, educates young people, ages 7-18, to develop and showcase their musical skills. Activities include the hys academy which houses four string orchestras, a general music program and summer strings program; and the Symphony program comprised of three full Symphony orchestras, a chamber music program and a summer intensive music program. Hys offers programming for the absolute beginner to the most accomplished young musicians. Education and concert performance are key elements of the program. Offering a robust financial assistance program, hys ensures its programs are accessible to any interested student regardless of financial condition, including students living on neighbor islands who receive travel subsidies to participate. This season hys served over 670 students from 110 public, private, and home schools across kauai, oahu, maui, and Hawaii counties. Students attended over 754 virtual and in-person activities, such as classes, rehearsals, workshops, and lectures. Hys created an educational "listen & learn" television special that was broadcast 27 times islandwide on olelo channel 53 and a one-hour "make music a right" television special that was broadcast 6 times statewide, streamed worldwide, watched by an estimated 100,000 people and shown in the local movie theatre. Hys also produced 17 in-person concerts featuring students from its Symphony, string, bucket, and jazz programs. The videos were repurposed for social media and received nearly 10,000 additional views collectively.