Looking Back, Moving Forward: The HYS 5 Year Report
In 2017, Hawai‘i Youth Symphony set out with a clear vision: Make Music a Right in Hawai‘i, an accessible, joyful experience for every keiki across the state.
We developed a strategic plan to guide that vision. And then, just as we began implementing it, the world changed. COVID-19 arrived in 2020 and, suddenly, everything we thought we knew about gathering, performing, and teaching music had to be reimagined.
But we didn’t stop. We adapted, we innovated, and we stayed committed to our keiki.
Why This Report Matters
We recently released our 5-Year Report: Music Is A Right: Five Years of Progress & Possibility. It’s a check-in on the vision we set in 2017 and a look back at the work we’ve done from 2020 to 2025 to make it real. It’s not just a retrospective of programs and numbers, but a story of resilience, growth, and what it takes to keep music alive during unprecedented times.
Why does this matter? Because we want to share with our community how their support translates into impact. And because reflection is essential to growth, for organizations just as much as for the young musicians we serve.
The past five years have tested us in ways we couldn’t have predicted. We’ve had to ask hard questions: How do we rehearse when we can’t gather in person? How do we make music accessible when families are facing economic hardship? How do we stay true to our mission when everything around us is uncertain?
This report explores how we answered those questions and what we learned along the way.
What You'll Find Inside
The report goes beyond the highlights to give you a full picture of our journey. You’ll discover:
- How our leadership views our vision and our work
- The voices of our students and faculty, and what our impact means to them
- The ways we’ve expanded access to students across the state
- Our investments in scholarship programs, financial aid, and removing barriers to participation
- How we’ve deepened our cultural roots through alliances and collaborations
- The growth that brought us to serving more than 800 young musicians annually
- Stats and stories that show what “making music a right” really means in practice
Looking Ahead
Our work doesn’t stop here. The landscape of arts education is shifting—federal funding has been cut, the cost of living in Hawai‘i continues to climb, and the needs of our keiki are evolving. While our report focuses on the past 5 years, it also positions us to set our sights for the next 5 years and beyond.
The vision we set in 2017—Make Music a Right in Hawai‘i—is as urgent now as it was then. Perhaps even more so.
An Invitation
Whether you’ve been part of the HYS ‘ohana for decades or you’re just getting to know us, we invite you to read this report. Celebrate the wins with us. Sit with the challenges. Consider what comes next.
Music lives here in Hawai‘i, in our rehearsal halls, on our concert stages, in the friendships formed and the confidence built. It lives here because people like you believe in its power to transform lives.
This report is a testament to what we can accomplish together when we stay committed to a vision, even when the path forward isn’t clear. Mahalo for being part of this journey.
