Class of 2023 Sayleen Aglanao
Youth Symphony II / Oboe / Waipahu High School
P
laying the oboe has turned out to be more of an experience than I made it out to be. Creating music was always an emotional outlet and became a new form of connection with others. At Waipahu High School, I found a passion for music and hope to inspire my classmates to push themselves to become better musicians and better people. I plan to attend college at the University of Hawai‘i as a psychology major in hopes of becoming a family lawyer. I originally tried out for Hawaii Youth Symphony my junior year but did not meet the requirements for any ensemble. However, I tried out again in my senior year and made it as principal oboist of YSII. The Hawaii Youth Symphony has allowed me to form lifelong friendships and given me new experiences getting to play with strings and students from different schools. Throughout these six years of band and music, I owe it to Mr. Fu, Mrs. Ochi-Onishi, and Mr. Uyeda for the reason I am still pursuing music today. I thank these teachers for the guidance, support, and inspiration that keeps me going. I also thank the Hawaii Youth Symphony community for all of the fond memories and weekly laughs.
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Archer Aloiau
Youth Symphony I / Trombone / Kalani High School
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joined HYS in my freshman year. I was admitted into YSII, which at the time surprised me. I enjoyed my time playing in that symphony because of the new friends I made, the difficult repertoire we rehearsed, and the fact that we had the opportunity to get all dressed up for the concert. I loved spending time with all my friends, both at rehearsals and during concerts. I was devastated when COVID hit because I had been looking forward to playing the next concert. I did not participate in HYS during COVID because the element of quality time with friends was not present to me in that environment. However, I did join back in my junior year, in which I made it into YSI! I was thrilled because it had been my dream to be in the top symphony orchestra at HYS. Playing huge orchestral works this and last year was beyond fun, and I am so grateful to be making music with such talented musicians. The HYS program has taught me so much in terms of music and cohesiveness. I wish the same great experiences for incoming HYS musicians and hope that my fellow graduates and I continue to share our love and passion for music.
22 | Class of 2023
Celebrating Our 58th Season!