Honolulu – The Honolulu Symphony today announced that its pilot education project, the Music Acceleration Program (MAP), has received a grant of $47,833 from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The grant will fund MAP at Nānākuli Elementary School in Wai‘anae during the current school year. The MAP project brings Symphony musicians and staff into the classroom, offering fourth, fifth and sixth graders regular music lessons, as well as a mentoring program that fosters problem-solving skills and builds self-confidence.

“Thanks to the generous funding provided by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, more than 190 children at Nānākuli Elementary benefit from high-quality teaching and mentoring, which make a lasting and positive impact on a young person’s growth,” said Dr. Jon Magnussen, director of education and community outreach, Honolulu Symphony.

“We are immensely honored to receive the grant, through which children at Nānākuli have the opportunity to learn how to play the recorder and read music while strengthening their love of learning,” said Tom Gulick, executive director, Honolulu Symphony. “We extend our deepest thanks to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs for their support of this Honolulu Symphony education program.”

At Nānākuli, Symphony musicians and staff support students with personalized instruction that strengthens each child’s listening skills while nurturing their enthusiasm for learning. As part of MAP, children are also introduced to five different Symphony Ensembles: String Quartet, Wind Quintet, Brass Quintet, Percussion Trio, and Mixed Ensemble with Harp.

At the culminating event for MAP, Nānākuli students will sing and perform on their recorders with the full orchestra at the Blaisdell Concert Hall on April 29, 2009. Works on the program will include “Hawai‘i Pono‘i,” an arrangement of melodies by the late Nona Beamer, and “Simple Gifts” (as featured in Copland’s “Appalachian Spring”).

Riely Francis, one of the participating Honolulu Symphony musicians, adds, “Outreach to public schools is crucial everywhere, but especially in the underserved neighborhoods of our island community.  There shouldn’t be a monopoly on youthful talent, curiosity, and potential.  We owe it to ourselves to invest in that potential.  Equal access to the finest educational resources, like those that the Symphony provides, is an important step toward economic justice for all of O‘ahu’s children.”   

The Symphony’s education and community outreach group developed the MAP project in 2008 to improve the Symphony’s service to outlying and historically underserved communities, while increasing the frequency of educational experiences for each individual child in the State of Hawaii.

Following a review at end of the school year, the Symphony plans to expand MAP to other schools in outlying communities on O‘ahu.


Honolulu Symphony Education and Outreach programs are made possible through support from:

Additional support for education touring programs is provided by Federal TANF Funds administered through the Hawai'i State Department of Human Services.

In addition, annual interest income is provided through the Honolulu Symphony Foundation’s permanent Endowment thanks to:

The Symphony also graciously acknowledges the generous support of The Mary D. and Walter F. Frear Eleemosynary Trust Fund for Youth Education Programs.