Pacific Music Institute (PMI), Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony‘s premier summer music camp, is more than just a music program, it’s a catalyst for positive community change across our islands. As part of Hawaiʻi’s only statewide orchestra program for youth, PMI embodies the transformative power of music to unite, inspire, and build stronger communities.
Building Bridges Across Our Islands
Each summer, PMI brings together intermediate and advanced-level musicians ages 7-18 from across the Hawaiian Islands, creating connections that transcend geography, background, and experience. Through both intensive on-campus programs and community outreach initiatives, PMI reaches youth and families statewide, ensuring that distance never becomes a barrier to musical excellence.
Students from nearly 100 schools across different islands come together, fostering relationships that celebrate our unique island culture while building bridges between communities that might otherwise never connect.
Read More About Our Outreach Initiatives
Nurturing Excellence, Creating Citizens
PMI’s exceptional faculty and staff provide intermediate and advanced middle and high school instrumentalists with world-class instruction that goes far beyond technical skill development. Students don’t just learn to play better, they develop the foundation for becoming thoughtful global citizens and lifelong learners.
When we invest in young musicians, we invest in the future of our communities. PMI alumni carry forward not just musical skills, but the collaborative spirit, cultural appreciation, and leadership qualities that make stronger neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces throughout Hawaiʻi.
Since 1964, Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony has served approximately 650 students annually, ages 7-18, from all skill levels and backgrounds. In our PMI 2025 summer intensive alone, we taught 230 youth representing 61 public, private, and home schools in Hawai‘i and beyond. This commitment to accessibility, regardless of who you are, where you live, or your musical interests, creates a ripple effect that strengthens the entire fabric of our island communities.
Betty Utter Community Impact Award
On July 12, 2026, the League of American Orchestras honored our co-founders Lance Jo and Henry Miyamura with the Betty Utter Community Impact Award, one of the League’s most prestigious awards and the only one dedicated to youth orchestras and music education.
Maestros Jo and Miyamura founded Pacific Music Institute in 1987, and this award celebrates nearly four decades of shaping music education in Hawaiʻi and beyond.
The award was named for Betty Utter, co-founder of the Fort Worth Youth Orchestra and founder of the League’s Youth Orchestra Division (YOD), who spent her life championing young musicians.
A Vision Realized
PMI supports HYS’ bold vision: A Hawaiʻi where Music is A Right. Through every lesson taught, every performance shared, and every connection made, we’re building a future where music enriches every community across our islands.
Because ultimately, music doesn’t just make better musicians, music makes better communities.
Join Us in Building Musical Communities
Ready to be part of this transformative movement? Here’s how you can support Pacific Music Institute and help us create a Hawaiʻi where music is a right for every child:
Support Our Mission
Your contribution directly supports scholarships, faculty excellence, and community outreach programs that bring music education to youth across all Hawaiian Islands.
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Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony has been incorporated since 1964 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (EIN: 99-0119771), serving as a comprehensive community resource for orchestral music in Hawaiʻi.