The keyboard will be there Saturday at the Kapaa Middle School covered court when the Kapaa Middle School Choir Boosters Club “Celebrate 20 Years of Music Alumni Reunion.” “I had a portable keyboard that was a great addition to my
The keyboard will be there Saturday at the Kapaa Middle School covered court when the Kapaa Middle School Choir Boosters Club “Celebrate 20 Years of Music Alumni Reunion.”
“I had a portable keyboard that was a great addition to my teaching style,” said Mary Lardizabal, the Kapaa Middle School music director who will celebrate 20 years of teaching at the school. “When I moved to Kauai in 1990, it was very challenging to find a job in my field, which was mass communication in radio and television. I started substitute teaching and enjoyed it very much, using the keyboard to add to my teaching style.”
Renee Thronas, the Kapaa High School’s music director, retired in 1994 and Wayne Watanabe, the Kapaa High principal, offered the position to Lardizabal. She was completing her teaching credentials through the first cohort program offered at the Kauai Community College through the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
“Mrs. Thronas had a thriving music program,” Lardizabal said. “During the music celebration reunion, we will feature some of her students because her programs overlapped the ones we started.”
When Kapaa Middle School opened in 1997, Lardizabal was one of the teachers who welcomed students into the music program, which has grown to approximately 165 students who perform throughout the community and host fundraisers and events to be able to travel to national competitions.
“This event on Jan. 2 is going to be a night to celebrate music and the talent from so many of our students,” Lardizabal said. “I wanted to honor Mrs. Thronas with this celebration. She taught for 34 years and I know how well respected and loved she is by her students. She just celebrated her 80th birthday this year, and it is exciting to honor her and her contribution to music. We are really hoping many people agree and will come to celebrate with us.”
Vendors and crafters will open at 4 p.m. Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. (who was a student of Thronas) will open the program at 5 p.m. with dinner starting at 5:30 p.m.
Patrick and Ilima Lopez will provide the luau food with kanikapila style music and slideshow being provided by former students throughout the evening. This is an alcohol and drug free event.
Parking will be available at the school’s lower campus.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for students, and free to children 5 years old and younger. Tickets are available at Kauai Music and Sound in Kapaa, or email kmschoir123@gmail.com.
