Page 7 - MidWeek Windward - May 3, 2023

Kāne‘ohe Native Expresses Herself Through Her Music
FROM PAGE 1
dation, workshopping a new musical for a locally based international recording art- ist, and singing at Blue Note Hawai‘i with New York drummer Tony Lewis. Being asked again to sing for the Aloha Concert for the first time feels very special, and I have even more experience behind me to lend to the per- formance.
“I’ve lived in New York City since college, with jobs ranging from odd to nine-to- fives, in between the jobs on stage and on camera,” Stuart explains when looking back at her career that blossomed in the local theater realm.
“Starting in 2017, I’ve been called on to work as an artist on O‘ahu in addition to New York, which is when I met Hawai‘i Youth Sym- phony director Randy Wong while performing together. There was work performing jazz in New York that sprung
The highly anticipated day celebrating music and community in support of the nonprofit’s programs will showcase performances from HYS’ Youth Symphony I and Youth Symphony II, featur- ing Stuart performing along-
“Connecting with people is one of the things I love most in life, so performing with more than 60 musicians who are new to me and get- ting to meet their families and whomever is around for the moment gives me ‘pup- py energy’ as my friends have named it; imagine a puppy running around shak- ing from excitement, licking everything — that’s me.”
up the following year, plac- ing me on stages headlin- ing evenings in Manhattan several times a week,” she says, adding that the experi- ence with jazz helped make a natural fit when she was asked to perform with HYS students at the Aloha Sym- phony Luncheon on May 7.
side Youth Symphony I. The luncheon at the Hawai‘i Con- vention Center will conclude with a special recognition ceremony for graduating se- niors and marks the return of the in-person celebration for the first time in three years. The event will showcase 135 of Hawai‘i’s finest high school musicians, represent- ing 24 public, independent and home schools across O‘ahu and Kaua‘i, perform- ing under the direction of maestro Joseph Stepec, the HYS director of orchestral activities, and conductors Susan Ochi-Onishi and Elton Masaki.
“I was booked to sing for the Aloha Concert Luncheon in May of 2020, which of course was canceled. How- ever, the past three years and the way things have changed have allowed me to work on O‘ahu,” Stuart says. “I’m connected with a wider va- riety of projects than ever, teaching in person and virtu- ally for the Bright Kid Foun-
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Follow Stuart’s work at kathleenstuart.com and follow her on Instagram (@kathleenybean). Visit hi- youthsymphony.org for more information about the Aloha Concert Luncheon.
(Above and left) Kāne‘ohe-raised singer Kathleen Stuart will perform at the Aloha Symphony Luncheon on May 7. PHOTOS COURTESY MARCIA CAMPBELL
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