Joyce Wong

Joyce Wong plays many key roles in the HYS ʻOhana: parent, dedicated volunteer, donor, and advocate. She gives hundreds of hours every year to facilitating rehearsals, concerts, and tours, and is a key liaison between HYS staff and students. HYS is very grateful for Joyce’s unstinting service and that she has agreed to share her story with our community. 

I am a Canadian girl who grew up in British Columbia and moved to the States for graduate school. I have worked as both a research and clinical audiologist and spent many years focused in the areas of pediatric cochlear implantation and aural re/habilitation. I “retired” after my second child was born.

My husband Vernon is a 3^rd-generation kama‘āina who graduated from Punahou School, attended college and medical school on the mainland, and is currently in private practice as an ophthalmologist here on Oahu. We met in California and lived in various cities before moving back to Hawaii in 1996.

We have four children, Michael, Isabel, Alexa, and Kate, who all attended Punahou School from kindergarten. Currently, Michael is a second-year medical student, Isabel just completed her undergraduate degree and plans to pursue graduate studies in education, Alexa is a junior in college majoring in Biology and Society, and Kate is a junior in high school. All four began violin studies from a young age and Michael, Alexa, and Kate participated in HYS. Michael and Alexa have continued to play in college and beyond; all four still play together for family events and community concerts.

How did you first become interested in HYS?

My older children participated in an HYS program early on, but we didn’t get a real taste of HYS until 2012 when my son joined Youth Symphony 1 as a high school sophomore. I learned a lot about HYS from his experience and many aspects of the program appealed to me:

• the opportunity to play with students from different schools
• students were held accountable with regards to attendance, communication, and being prepared for rehearsals
• students were highly engaged and invested in their experience, and this was reflected in their high levels of achievement
• the high level of repertoire
• the emphasis on community service and engagement with the community
• the dedicated conductors and faculty

Based on this initial experience with HYS, I was very interested in having my younger children participate. Of particular note, the encouragement and support provided by Kate’s private teacher, Joan Doike, who was an Academy Strings conductor at the time, was a key factor in our family’s decision to join HYS. She shared her positive experiences growing up with HYS, encouraged participation by all her students, and provided invaluable support through the application and audition process.

How has your interest grown over the years?

The administrators, faculty and staff always strive to provide the best possible experience for students, promoting musical and personal growth while keeping their safety and well-being always front and center.

HYS serves as a clearinghouse of information related to other local, state and national opportunities for our student musicians and supports them in their applications. It provides high-quality summer programs and workshops so that students don’t need to travel to the mainland.

My daughter has been fortunate to serve as a student volunteer for the lower string ensembles both as a beginning violist and as a teaching assistant. By providing these leadership and volunteer opportunities to its students, HYS encourages musical growth and exploration and nurtures future educators!

I am completely in awe of the conductors who are so invested in their students and ensembles and who juggle their HYS duties with their own professional pursuits. These professionals are great models to our keiki of real people making music accessible to our community!

I love how HYS engages with the wider community. Private music instruction and even school curricular music programs can feel insular at times. The opportunity to perform in community venues and reach new audiences, and the commitment to outreach through beginning music instruction to our underserved communities – all of these help grow our collective love for classical music.

Ultimately, it is the very inclusive wonderful staff, the dedicated students, and the passion for excellence that endears me to this organization!

What does HYS mean to your family?

HYS has been a wonderful support and resource through the years and has ultimately enriched our family.

The feeling of community and the opportunity to meet and work with people from different backgrounds and parts of the islands and find commonalities through shared interests and goals. I have made many enduring friendships through volunteering at HYS, and I know my children also value the friendships made during their time in HYS.

What would you tell other parents interested in joining the HYS community?

HYS is a community program of the highest quality and a great value. Through its programs, students learn accountability, self-discipline, focus, perseverance, and valuable time management skills, as well as the importance of community engagement. Participation in HYS exposes our children to adult mentors and peers who are passionate about music and dedicated to the pursuit of excellence. It is a very inclusive organization with a mission to provide access to high quality music instruction to all through generous financial aid and educational programming in historically underserved areas. For individual students, HYS provides opportunities to play repertoire at the highest level under the guidance of experienced and dedicated faculty.

You are an inveterate volunteer for HYS and also make financial contributions to support HYS. What message would you give to encourage support for HYS?

Investing in HYS is investing in our children and in our community. HYS hits all the right notes in preparing children for success in music and in life.

At the beginning of the pandemic, I think we all felt somewhat unmoored and isolated and wondered how we could stay engaged with friends, loved ones and our community given restrictions on traveling and gathering, and the shuttering of many in-person volunteer and social activities. We did what we could given the limitations – we sewed masks and helped with organizations – but I think what really made my kids feel like they were contributing something positive was sharing their music virtually with others who were similarly shut off – nursing homes, elderly friends and distant relatives, including my father who was ill and in the ICU last winter. During the pandemic, music has been a gift that has helped both the giver and recipient feel connected and less alone.

How has music helped you and your family during the pandemic?

At the beginning of the pandemic, I think we all felt somewhat unmoored and isolated and wondered how we could stay engaged with friends, loved ones and our community given restrictions on traveling and gathering, and the shuttering of many in-person volunteer and social activities. We did what we could given the limitations – we sewed masks and helped with organizations – but I think what really made my kids feel like they were contributing something positive was sharing their music virtually with others who were similarly shut off – nursing homes, elderly friends and distant relatives, including my father who was ill and in the ICU last winter. During the pandemic, music has been a gift that has helped both the giver and recipient feel connected and less alone.

“Investing in HYS is investing in our children and in our community. HYS hits all the right notes in preparing children for success in music and in life.”