The future of a lucky music student at UH Maui College will glow a little brighter thanks to a $3,000 contribution to the Emma Veary Scholarship fund by Robyn Kneubuhl and Ginger Johnson, otherwise known as the Hula Honeys. Their decision to make the donation came about as the result of a successful cultural exchange tour between Kahului and the beach cities of Southern California.
“QUEEN'” EMMA – Emma Veary performs at Halekulani Hotel on Waikiki. Click to enlarge. (Photo Courtesy Hula Honeys)
SWEET DEAL – Left, Robyn Kneubuhl, Center Maile Montas, Executive Director of the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Right, Ginger Johnson. Click to enlarge. (Photo Courtesy Hula Honeys)
“Emma Veary continues to be a huge musical influence,” said Johnson, part of the award-winning jazz duo. “After playing to packed crowds at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Redondo Beach and Mar’sels Restaurant, we saw how far that musical influence has reached. We wanted to help nurture the next generation of musicians the way Maui has nurtured our careers, so we decided to contribute part of the profits from that tour to the Emma Veary Scholarship.”
The multi-year Emma Veary Scholarship, named after Robin Kneubuhl’s mother, was established by a private donor in California who had enjoyed listening to Veary’s performances on the beach outside the Halekulani Hotel forty years ago. Veary would tell her paying audience that the next song was for ‘friends on the shelf’ or for her ‘scholarship friends’, and then she would then turn and sing to her fans on the beach who could not afford to buy a ticket to a Waikiki concert.
The scholarship will be awarded to a student who demonstrates ability and promise in all types of music, i.e. following the broad repertoire of the Golden Voice of Hawaiʻi, Emma Veary.
“We’re hoping that others in the local music community in Maui will help grow this important scholarship so that it can support more deserving music students, and inspire them to pursue careers in the industry,” said Kneubuhl.
To make a contribution to the Emma Veary Scholarship, or learn how to create a scholarship in your, or a loved one’s name, contact the UH Foundation at Maui College by phone at 808.984.3471 or email Cordy.MacLaughlin@uhfoundation.org.