“Mary Uke” Hargreaves was raised on Mozart, apple pie, and polkas in a musical family in southern New England. She learned classical piano as a child and guitar as a teen, and now the ukulele! During her college days in Boston, she became strongly influenced by the Folk Music scene and spent many evenings singing and jamming with musician friends.
( 25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001 ) was an English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, author and sitarist best known as the lead guitarist of The Beatles. Following the band’s demise, Harrison had a successful career as a solo artist and later as part of the Traveling Wilburys super group where he was known as both Nelson Wilbury and Spike Wilbury.
J. WALTER HAWKES Originally from Pascagoula, MS, three time Emmy Award winning composer/trombonist/ukulele player J. Walter Hawkes has been an active performer, composer, and arranger/orchestrator in New York City for over fifteen years. He has played and/or recorded with some people you’ve possibly heard of, (Elvis Costello, Norah Jones, Jon Hendricks) and many more you haven’t.
ukulele - build it and play it. "Uncle" Dave of Hilo Hawaii builds custom ukulele and guitars, plays the ukulele [as well as guitar, banjo, string bass, steel guitar, fiddle, and maybe anything with strings once he fiddles with it]. He gives classes on playing the ukulele, writes books, composes music, and shares the aloha of Hawaii.
"Yaletown Music" is the teaching studio of teacher Guido Heistek. The studio is conveniently located on the corner of Nelson and Richards in downtown Vancouver. Guido Heistek teaches fun, student-centred ukulele lessons, guitar lessons, and harmonica lessons. Children and adults welcome.
Recognized as Hawaii’s premier female vocalist during the 2000s, Raiatea Helm (born August 8, 1984) was first introduced to world audiences in 2003 thanks to her debut record, Far Away Heaven, released by Riptide Records. At only 19 years of age, Helm won the prestigious Female Vocalist of the Year and Most Promising Artist titles at the 2003 HARA (Hawaii Academy of Recording Artists) Awards. Accompanying herself on ukulele, Raiatea captured the attention of audiences throughout her native islands, interpreting traditional Hawaiian song with the mastery and control of a jazz vocalist.
How does a kid from Canada become what the Honolulu Star-Bulletin calls a “rare peer” of Hawaii’s premier ukulele players? James grew up nearly three thousand miles east of Honolulu in the town of Langley, British Columbia, where ukulele instruction has been mandatory in many schools since the late 1970s. To his fourth grade classmates, the ukulele was a means to an end, a way for them to dip their toes into the vast ocean of music. For James, the uke was a sea of possibilities unto itself and inside its tiny wooden shell he saw his life in music. He was hooked.
Daniel Ho’s simple philosophy of presenting music with sincerity and artistry encompasses six consecutive GRAMMY Awards, number-one albums on national airplay charts, and top-ten albums on Billboard. In 2010, his solo ukulele CD, Polani (Pure), was the first ukulele album in music history to receive a GRAMMY nomination. On piano the following year, he received a nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Album for his CD, E Kahe Malie (Flowing Gently). Most recently, in 2012, Daniel’s album On A Gentle Island Breeze was nominated for a GRAMMY in the World Music category.
Composed of Honoka Katayama and Azita Ganjali, the young and dynamic ukulele duo first met at Ukulele Hale, a ukulele studio in Kaimuki, Hawaii founded by Jody Kamisato. Both girls garnered exceptional credentials as soloist, including individual awards in ukulele competitions throughout Hawaii.
In late 2012, the girls combined their creative forces and began performing together as a duo. The two entered the 2013 International Ukulele Contest taking home 1st place in Group Division and were also awarded the highly prestigious title of MVP.
As a young boy growing up in Hawaii, ukuleles were all around Kimo. Yet, it wasn't until his Uncle Richard took him under his wing at age 5 that Kimo learned to play and love the ukulele a love that has only grown over time. As Kimo says "Emotion is the key in nurturing ukulele because people around the world enjoy the instrument because it is fun, first and foremost, and therefore provides a moving emotional reward." His music is deliberately slow, a style that he is often sought out for as a teacher and instructor. For Kimo, however, he grew up with this ukulele sound all around me. It was somewhat characteristic to all those local ukulele players to whom I ascribed a ton of respect.
Funny, irreverent and spontaneous, Bermudian ukulele artist Mike Hind, also known by his stage moniker, Uncle Elvis, performs weekly throughout the summer all over the island - Red Steakhouse, Bermuda Bistro at the Beach and, predominantly, The Dock at Waterlot Inn, entertaining crowds with an eclectic range of songs from classic romance tunes to the catchiest pop numbers. He’s been known to burst into song at a moment’s notice… sometimes in the middle of another song.