HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0711.087 2008-2010Yoshimoto, J
From: Dylan Suehiro [dsuehiro @umail.iu.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 11:23 AM
To: J S Yoshimoto
Subject: Re: Hawaii County Band
Mr. Yoshimoto,
Thank you very much for your response and your consideration. I am staying updated with my friends
back home and hoping for the best.
Aloha,
Dylan
2010/3/1 J S Yoshimoto <jyoshimoto c co.hawaii.hi.us>
Aloha Mr. Suehiro:
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Thank you for sharing your concerns about the Hawaii County Band. The Mayor will
be submitting the budget to the Hawaii County Council today, March 1, 2010.
Thereafter, the Hawaii County Council has the opportunity to amend the budget and
make any necessary changes. Please be assured that I will consider your concerns
as we review the Budget. If you have any other additional information you would
like to share with us, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Mahalo,
J Yoshimoto '-
Council Chair
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From: Dylan Suehiro [mailto:dsuehiro @umail.iu.edu] n
Sent: Sunday, February 28, 2010 11:46 AM —c
To: Dominic Yagong; Donald Ikeda; J Yoshimoto; Dennis Fresh; Emily Naeole; Guy Enriques; Brenda Ford;
Kelly Greenwell; Pete Hoffmann
Subject: Hawaii County Band
To the members of the Hawai'i County Council:
3/4/2010
Comm. No. ` `
Ref. To; [�f til
Ref. Dote MAR 2 2 2010
I am a sophomore pursuing a degree in music education in the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana
University- Bloomington, and I am writing to you in support of the Hawai'i County Band. I was born
and raised on the Big Island and I am a graduate of Waiakea High School, and I played trombone with
the band for almost three years. If I had not had that opportunity and met all of the wonderful
musicians in it, I do not know where I would be now or if I would even be studying music.
In this economy, the County Band is one of the last free and accessible forms of free entertainment.
However, it does not exist solely for that purpose. It is a vital resource for music education on the Big
Island, especially in these difficult times for music programs in our schools. Many of the musicians in
the band are teachers past and present; my former band director, Mr. Bill Sever, has played horn with
the band for many years. He is the one who invited me to come to the rehearsals and, as a sophomore
in high school, see what it was like to play with a professional ensemble. This led to my eventual
employment, but it was never just a job for me (nor is that the case for any of the bandmembers).
Through those rehearsals and gigs, I became a better trombonist and developed work ethic and
responsibility, and I also had fun along the way.
I learned so much about music and about life in that band, and I think about all of the students before
me who had the same opportunity. Now, I think about the students after me who might not see any of
this if the program gets cut entirely I think about the potential performers and educators who will not
be able to have the kind of experience I did. Should the Hawai'i County Band cease to exist, it will be
a terrible blow to music and music education in the state and possibly on an even larger scale. What
else would get the axe? High school and middle school music programs? Elementary general music?
'Ukulele classes? If the band goes, it will send the message to the public that music is unimportant.
This is unacceptable. If I have learned anything in my schooling, it is that music education is both
unique and necessary. Nothing can or will ever replace music.
In addition, as you well know, Hawai'i has deep roots in music, so to consider eliminating one of the
last remaining connections not only to the monarchy, but also to Hawaii's history as a whole, is
preposterous. How can 127 years of history be thrown away in one fell swoop? Imagine a Christmas
in Hilo with no red palaka to lead the parade; or a silent Veteran's Day Ceremony with no America the
Beautiful; or fireworks in July accompanied by an empty bandstand. We would say, "Remember when
sang along with the band at their Christmas concert?" and proceed to tell our children and
grandchildren about the magic that once happened every month at the Mo'oheau Bandstand.
It will be a sad day indeed if the music dies. Please do the right thing, and do not let this program go.
Aloha and Mahalo,
Dylan Suehiro
Dylan Suehiro
Indiana University Bloomington, Jacobs School of Music
BME - Instrumental: In progress
Vice President KKT, AZ Chapter
(808) 938 -4163
3/4/2010
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This too shall pass.
Dylan Suehiro
Indiana University Bloomington, Jacobs School of Music
BME - Instrumental: In progress
Vice President KK`P, AZ Chapter
(808) 938-4163
This too shall pass.
3/4/2010
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