
Innovative, inspirational, warm, funny and kind are all words used to describe Roy. In over 50 years of teaching the ukulele, he has been all of these things and more in his role as teacher, producer, promoter and inspiration to thousands of students and the island community.
In the 1960′s, as America’s youth latched onto the larger, louder, more swaggering guitar, the little instrument from Hawaii was relegated to the attic. Roy knew the instrument’s true worth. And so for over the past 50 years, with his wife Kathy, and their staff of instructors and supporters, his mission has been to spread the joy of the ukulele teaching students and promoting the annual Ukulele Festival, the largest ukulele festival of its kind in the world. The ukulele has come a long way. It’s cool to play the ukulele. Youngsters jam at school between classes, at the park and the mall. The ukulele embraces everyone who hears it. As Roy Sakuma understood decades ago, that’s the irresistible charm of the ukulele.
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