SFCM and the Hawai'i Chamber Music Festival Celebrate Third Year of Partnership
The student experience includes educational and mentoring opportunities, side-by-side performances with artists like Stefan Jackiw, and of course, a week in Honolulu in June.
The 2025 Kaimana Quartet of the Hawai'i Chamber Music Festival.
SFCM is proud to continue its partnership with the Hawai’i Chamber Music Festival (HCMF) this summer, having selected a new quartet of students to represent the Conservatory in Honolulu for a week of performances and mentorship and educational opportunities with younger musicians. This year, the quartet consists of Cuna Kim (violin), Julia Chen (viola), Qicong Ma (violin) and Daniela Gonzales Siu (cello).
"After three years, our partnership continues to reach new heights in artistic excellence and community engagement for both Hawaii and San Francisco,” SFCM alum ('24) and HCMF President Christopher Yick says. “Each summer, the students of our Young Artist Program eagerly anticipate SFCM's quartet residency. It provides them with opportunities to grow musically, forge lasting friendships, and create unforgettable memories. This truly exemplifies youth mentorship at its finest."
The 2024 SFCM Kaimana Quartet at the 2024 Hawai'i Chamber Music Festival.
Each summer for the past three years, SFCM has selected a group of students to represent the Conservatory at the HCMF. Dubbed the Kaimana Quartet for the support of the Kaimana Beach Hotel and Highgate Hawai’i, the Quartet spends its time performing by itself and in tandem with other artists, including the HCMF’s Artistic Director Stefan Jackiw.
“The Kaimana Quartet perform in public concerts, of course, but HCMF also has an academy portion to it where we offer full-scholarship music instruction for local middle- and high -schoolers, with coaching and private lessons by the Quartet,” Jackiw says. “The SFCM students at the HCMF are closer in age to high-school students than many of the visiting professionals, and so I think the local students really look up to these SFCM fellows.”
Stefan Jackiw.
Viola professor and String and Chamber Music Chair Dimitri Murrath adds, “It’s a great opportunity for the students in the Kaimana Quartet each year to play alongside some of the most exciting professional artists in their field and get hands-on experience as mentors to local high school students. The HCMF really helps our students take an active role in the transmission of the art form of chamber music between different generations.” The HCMF collaboration stands alongside SFCM's other initiatives that allow interested Conservatory students to get a jump-start on their teaching careers, like Conservatory Connect, Bridge to Arts and Music, and Teach SFCM.
Student expenses are covered by the Kaimana Beach Hotel and sponsor Lilian Tsai. “We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Kaimana Beach Hotel and the Highgate Hawai’i ohana for their commitment to our talented youth,” Yick adds. “Their support in bringing SFCM to the islands has helped cultivate a vibrant musical community in Hawaii, one that resonates culturally and unites people."