LIHUE A $5,000 award by the Mokihana Club helped get the Kauai Opio and Keiki Orchestras feet off the ground Thursday during the clubs final meeting of the fiscal year at the Lihue Parish Hall.
LIHUE — A $5,000 award by the Mokihana Club helped get the Kauai Opio and Keiki Orchestra’s feet off the ground Thursday during the club’s final meeting of the fiscal year at the Lihue Parish Hall.
“This award was what we needed to get 20 violins and instructional material,” said Sarah Tochiki of KOKO. “Megan Lawson is the violin instructor and the KOKO director.”
The KOKO program, headed by Tochiki and Lawson, has the aim of providing instruction in orchestral string instruments not offered by the public schools.
“Initially, we’ll be working with the Boys &Girls Hawaii Lihue Clubhouse,” Tochiki said. “We have 20 students now, and eventually want up to 100 students island-wide. The program will expand as funds allow.”
Both women have careers in music education that include numerous years in heading music programs for students, said Elyse Litvack, Mokihana Club president.
The Mokihana Club is the oldest women’s organization in Hawaii, founded in 1905. The club has awarded music and nursing scholarships totaling more than $250,000 on Kauai. This year, the Mokihana Club will award an additional $35,000 in scholarships to students.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
