College & Career Pathways for Young Musicians
Are you a musician aspiring to a career in music performance, arts administration, or music education? Or do you love music and want to see where it can take you, on stage, backstage, or off stage?
Whether you are an HYS music student or simply a lover of music, HYS is excited to present this FREE workshop series. Continuing the success of last year’s program, sponsored by the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, these workshops are intended to help you dream courageously and explore pathways as you prepare for life beyond high school. With HYS’s wide network of professional musicians, recording artists, and arts administrators, these workshops will provide you with a chance to think about your future lives and careers in the arts.
Each workshop will feature:
- A short performance by professional musicians
- A facilitated Q&A with the performers, so you can learn about their individual pathways
- FREE FOOD & A CHANCE TO WIN A GIFT CARD
- A short presentation about scholarships and/or the FAFSA
- Time to network and connect with other young musicians!
Pre-registration for each B#=C Success Workshop is encouraged. All students are welcome and invited—you don’t have to be an HYS student to participate. B#=C Success Workshops are FREE and open to the public.
2026 Events
We are giving away various gift cards at each B#=C Success workshop! Pre-register at least 48 hours before the event for TWO entries to the gift card drawing.
Receive ONE entry when you register within 48 hours of the event or walk in.
Oʻahu Seminars
Sunday, July 5, 2026
9:00 AM at ʻIolani School during our Pacific Music Institute summer intensive
Featured Musicians: OLA Woodwind Trio
Register Now: B#=C Success Parent Workshop ‘Iolani School
Open to all adults. Coffee and pastries will be served.
Past seminars:
Saturday, June 6, 2026
10:00-11:30 am at the Musicians Association of Hawaii’s Studio 909
Featured Musicians: Members of the Exotica music ensemble The WAITIKI 7 (Abe Lagrimas Jr., Helen Liu, Zaccai Curtis, Jim Benoit, Tim Mayer, Randy Wong)
This special edition of B# will also include a primer on midcentury Exotica music and its unique history in/hailing from Hawaiʻi, and is open to attendees of The Waitiki 7’s Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra concert.
Light snacks will be served. Co-presented by the East West Center, Musicians Association of Hawaiʻi, and Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra.
Saturday, February 14, 2026
1:00-3:15 pm at McKinley High School’s Music Building
Featured Musicians: OLA Brass Quintet and local tuba player Dan Honaker
Featured FAFSA Speaker: Heather Florendo, Financial Aid Specialist with the University of Hawaiʻi Community College System
Light snacks will be served.
Why are we offering these workshops?
As a youth-based music education organization, we hope to foster a community culture that values higher education and supports students in their educational and career pursuits.
The goal of the FAFSA training portion of these workshops is to EDUCATE students and parents of the financial aid opportunities available to them, helping more students secure the funding they need to pursue their dreams.
The college audition and application process can look different for conservatories and music degree programs, and the opportunity to hear advice from young professional musicians who have taken this path is invaluable to students interested in continuing their music education. We hope that these young professional musicians will help INSPIRE our students to continue their education and keep music in their lives.
We also hope to EXPAND our students’ horizons by raising awareness of other careers in music and the arts aside from performing! The topics covered in these workshops benefit any seeker of higher education whether they pursue music, use the skills they gained from music education towards another career path, or are looking for information on how to fund their path to college.