A Kapa‘a High School student and two home-schooled students played their respective instruments to scholarships during the 2011 Mokihana Club Music Scholarship Competition held at the club’s April meeting. According to competition organizers, Mokihana Club members Eddie Taylor and Leisa
A Kapa‘a High School student and two home-schooled students played their respective instruments to scholarships during the 2011 Mokihana Club Music Scholarship Competition held at the club’s April meeting.
According to competition organizers, Mokihana Club members Eddie Taylor and Leisa Rados, violinist Carlthron Antoine, a home-schooled student, won a $4,000 scholarship; pianist Heide Murakami, the Kapa‘a High student, won a $3,000 scholarship; and violinist Kaitlin “Maka” Viernes, also a home-schooled student, won a $2,000 scholarship.
Antoine has studied violin for seven years and plays violin at his church in addition to working with the audio/visual department there. He will attend Kaua‘i Community College. His winning musical selection was Vivaldi’s “Concerto in G Minor.”
In addition to the piano, Murakami also plays the trombone and has traveled with the All Hawai‘i Marching Band and the Hawai‘i Ambassadors of Music. She plays with the Kaua‘i Community College Wind Symphony and Stage Band and has performed on O‘ahu in Pianomania.. She plans to attend the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa after graduating from Kapa‘a High School. Murakami chose two short piano pieces to play, Chopin’s “Valse No. 6, Op. 64, ‘Petit Chien’” and John Field’s “Nocturne No. 5.”
Viernes plays the recorder and piano, as well as the violin, and also has theater and dance experience. She has played with the Kaua‘i Community College Orchestra for two years, where she is also taking classes. She was home schooled, recently earned a GED and plans to continue attending Kaua‘i Community College. Her musical selection was the First Movement of Mozart’s “Concerto in G.”
The day of the competition contestants were told to introduce themselves and briefly introduce their presentation. They were also reminded that the selections were to be between three and seven minutes long. The judges and audience members were the Mokihana Club members, each of whom was given a ballot with the name, music selection and brief bio of the contestants. Competitors were judged on musical talent and execution; stage presence and poise; artistic selection; and appropriate appearance.
The Mokihana Club awards two sets of scholarships each year, one to music students and the other to nursing students. Money raised from several fund-raisers throughout the year finance the two scholarship competitions, including a Winter Concert, a bake sale, the Annual Golf Scramble, and a silent auction featuring donations from scores of local businesses and individuals.
The Mokihana Club is Kaua‘i’s oldest women’s service organization. Members meet the first Wednesday of every moth at the Lihu’e United Church Parish Hall on Nawiliwili Road. For further information regarding the Mokihana Club, contact Norah Heppard at 823-9757.
