`Ukulele News

'Ōlelo Community Media is O‘ahu’s nonprofit community access television provider. It is our mission to “strengthen our island voices and advance community engagement through innovative media.” In addition to the thousands of hours of locally produced programs* created by O‘ahu’s community producers, 'Ōlelo produces numerous programs for nonprofit and government agencies as well as programs of broad community interest that aren’t found on commercial television. These programs inform, entertain, and celebrate Hawai‘i’s island diversity.

Aloha my name is Bryan L. Tolentino. I am a self taught ‘ukulele player. I started playing the ‘ukulele at the age of 10. At the age of 12, my best friend Asa Young first introduced me to playing Hawaiian music on the ‘ukulele. Our early influences were the musical groups, “The Son’s of Hawai’i” and “The Sunday Mānoa.” After graduating from St. Louis High School in 1979, my friends and I decided to form a musical group called “The Side Order Band.” The group consisted of Asa Young on 12-string guitar, Delwin Beazley on 6-string guitar, and Chris Kamaka on upright bass, and me on ‘ukulele. We performed at various functions throughout the island of O’ahu.

"Byron Yasui" has been on the music faculty at theUniversity of Hawaii in his native Honolulu since 1972, where he teaches music theory, composition, and jazz improvisation. His experiences as a classroom instructor of 'ukulele include workshops at the Ukulele Hall of Fame Museum Expositions of 2001, 2002, and 2003 (all on the east coast), the 2004 UkeFestWest in Santa Cruz, California, the Ukulele Guild of Hawai'i" annual conventions of 2002, 2003, and 2004, countless workshops at the University of Hawai'i Windward Community College since 2002, the Aloha Music Camps of 2004 and 2005 (Molok'i), and various one day workshops on all of the Hawaiian islands since 2000. Many of these workshops were tied in with his participation as an `ukulele soloist in concerts at the various venues.

Benny Chong taught himself to play the ukulele when he was about 11 years old. After nine years or so, he virtually put the ukulele away for some thirty-five years. Benny was the guitarist with the Ali’is, the band that backed up Don Ho. In 2000, He was invited him to be one of the four artists in “The Art of Solo ukulele”, a concert series that led to a CD and a public TV special. These events revitalized his interest in the ukulele, resulting in his album.

Retailer of the finest vintage and custom ukulele in the world. A great museum of vintage ukes fromt he later 1800-the start of ukulele. From the earliest of historical ukulele founders such as Augusto Dias, Manuel Nunes, and Jose Do Espirito Santo to the elegance and tonal complexities offered by the 21st century ukulele luthiers, each instrument is filled with ‘personality’, both aesthetically and tonally, as demonstrated thro