Students in BYU–Hawaii’s Shaka Steel and Street Band said their Kauai tour in March highlighted music’s ability to bring people together in expression and worship.
“Getting to know members [of the Church] in Kauai helped us build a strong relationship with them,” Ana Ramirez, a junior from the Philippines majoring in elementary education, said. “Hearing their stories and testimonies made this trip remarkable.
“Because of seeing the good in simple things and expressing our own art through music we were able to be unified and love one another.”
The bands left Oahu for Kauai on Feb. 28 and returned March 3. During their trip, the group split their time between sightseeing and performing at venues around the island, including a middle school, a resort, and several churches.
“People are definitely number one on the list when it comes to things [memorable] about the tour,” Kenner Shumway, a junior from Laie majoring in applied mathematics, said.
Shumway added talking to non-members of the Church who attended their performances and younger students was rewarding.
This was further elaborated by Lina Wong, a California sophomore and music major. She said, “Our performances were opportunities to make people happy and to get people up and dancing. It showed how music can bring people together.
“We shared our talents with others to bring them and ourselves joy. This trip was a good way for me to get to know the people in my band and to perform for the people of Kauai.”
Lessons learned
Band members agreed on the profound impact this trip had on their perspectives of worship.
“One of the highlights [of the trip] was a musical fireside we did. We all sang in the choir, but there was a piece where the Street Band played inside a chapel. That was the first time I’d ever heard a brass instrument in a church building,” Shumway explained.
Shumway elaborated and said there is no written music with the Street Band. This means performers either memorize pieces beforehand or play off each other by ear.
One of the pieces they performed was a New Orleans style funeral medley titled “Ashes to Ashes.” Shumway said it has an overarching theme of finding joy in grief and mourning. “It affirmed to me that the spirit can be channeled through all kinds of mediums. It’s not restricted to just one type of music and worship.”
Like Shumway, Wong reflected on the unique experiences she had in playing lead pan and trombone for Shaka Steel, saying, “Shaka Steel has introduced me to new friends and given me the opportunity to learn an instrument I would never have thought to play on my own. It’s opened me up to new genres of music and new ways of thinking.”
According to Ramirez, the trip stressed the importance of working as a team and how simple things can have great endings. “I'm not a music major, but I definitely enjoyed the tour. This is the first time I joined a tour where we have to perform. I enjoyed every minute of it. I learned more about music, gaining confidence, building friendships and being able to get to know people we meet every day.”
Writer: J. Eston Dunn