Students in the Institute of Hawaiian Music play at the Fairmont Kea Lani as part of the Aloha Friday Summer Concert series.

KAHULUI – Students in the University of Hawaii Maui College’s Institute of Hawaiian Music will join forces with local Hawaiian music icons for a free, end-of summer outdoor concert on Friday, Aug. 31, at The Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui.

Open to all, the concert from 5 to 6 p.m. at The Fairmont Kea Lani’s Palm Court will include slack key guitar, ukulele, keyboard, vocals and hula and will offer both traditional and contemporary pieces.

The talented students will perform alongside their musical mentors, including four-time Grammy Award winner George Kahumoku Jr., Kevin and Sheldon Brown and Richard Ho’opi’i.

Refreshments from The Fairmont Kea Lani’s signature restaurant, Ko, will be available for purchase.

“The students are really coming along – we had to turn people away at the door when they played at the MACC for their first showcase in May,” said Kahumoku.

“The free concerts over the summer at the Fairmont are giving them even more experience playing live, and this show August 31st is going to be the best yet.”

The college’s Institute of Hawaiian Music, dedicated to the perpetuation and preservation of Hawaiian music, offers students the unique opportunity to form a musical mentorship with professional Hawaiian musicians.

The curriculum takes students from the beginning of their musical training to their career debut, offering classes in guitar, ukulele, singing, keyboard, composition, music theory, repertoire development, dance, music industry business and marketing and recording.

Students are also required to complete courses in Hawaiian studies and Hawaiian language to understand the cultural roots of their art.

For more information about the UHMC Institute of Hawaiian Music, visit www.maui.hawaii.edu/ihm or e-mail ihm@hawaii.edu.