KAPAA — Kapaa Middle School student Keahilani Bacon said winning gold at the WorldStrides UpStage competition was an “awesome” experience.
Bacon was a member of the 24-student contingent that traveled to California for the competition that unfolded at the Heritage Music Festivals.
“The hardest part was trying to get the music done and making sure everybody gets the song, and the meaning of the song” said Bacon, an eighth-grade student.
Mary Lardizabal, director of the Kapaa Middle School Ukulele Band and Choir, said the group finished the competition by taking Gold-1st in the choir competition, and Gold in the ukulele band competition.
“They (the judges) must have really liked how we did in our choral work,” Lardizabal said. “They not only awarded us Gold, it was Gold-1st.”
The pair of Gold awards is not the first for the Kapaa Middle School group.
“I’ve been going to the competition for at least 20 years,” Lardizabal said. “It started when I took a student choral group from the Immaculate Conception Church before introducing the Kapaa Middle School group to the competition back in 2002. We’ve been going, and winning, from that time until now.”
Student Jenny Hayakawa said she’s been traveling with the group for the past six years, becoming a participant in the last three years after watching her sister Alicia perform on stage.
“I was still nervous,” Hayakawa said. “The best part of being in the competition is being able to all work together as a group.”
Nathan Aiwohi, KMS principal, was proud of the group’s accomplishments that join the school’s media students — Malia Nagle and Ella Anderson who earned third-place honors in the recent Student Television Network 2019 National Conference in Seattle, and Elena Panui, and Wainohia Kitamura, who earned honorable mention honors at the same conference.
Lardizabal said the success of the group is due to support from the community, parents, and boosters.
Fundraising efforts start before the bell rings on the school year, and continue through the holiday season when the group is booked for holiday presentations, using the exposure to gain experience of performing before audiences.
One of the new facets for the fundraising is the introduction of the Aloha Showcase that introduces the community to pockets of talent from other schools on Kauai that were previously obscure.
“It’s hard work,” Bacon said. “But it’s also a lot of fun. During the competition, we gave a gift card to one of the early judges, and she came back with a venti — you know, extra large? It’s all part of the aloha.”
The Kapaa Middle School groups will next perform at the Spring Choral and Ukulele Band Concert on May 15.
