Petesa Uta — Five talented young students from Dancing Fingers piano studio at Petesa Uta will be attending a summer piano camp at the University of Redlands School of Music in southern California. The piano camp starts on July 29 and ends on August 2. 

The school received an official letter of invitation from Prof. Louanne Long, artist in residence, last November, which was graciously accepted. The five students will be accompanied by their parents and piano teacher Poe Mageo. 

The five students are Maria Toma, daughter of Rev. & Mrs. Eteuati Toma of Leone; Jared Fruean, son of Liza Fata-Afalava and Emi Afalava of Ottoville; Liana Gurr, daughter of Peter and Donna Gurr of Maloata; Fred Mamea, son of Rev. Elder Fred and Kalina Mamea of Tafuna; and Vera Wong-Mageo, daughter of Puletasi and Seine Wong-Mageo of Malaeloa. 

Most of the students have studied piano for over 3-5 years, and except for Jared Fruean, who left earlier on a Junior Statesmen Association (JSA)) scholarship at Georgetown University, the rest of the group will leave on the second week of July. This would be the school’s 4th tour to the US Mainland; the first three summer internships were at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. 

For preparation, the students reviewed basic music theory lessons like intervals and chords progressions (root, first inversion, second inversion) to major/minor chords to running natural, harmonic, and melodic scales in the last two months. In addition, they refined their piano pieces, which represent the major periods in music (i.e., baroque, classical, romantic, contemporary) and style of music (i.e., minuet, sonata, ballade, prelude, sonatina, march, rondo). 

According to Prof. Long, the week culminates in a recital for family and friends, a concert that highlights the accomplishments of each of the piano ensemble team and demonstrates the endeavors of the various exploration and skills classes. Furthermore, students have the opportunity to listen creatively to music, work with the tools of music (Theory, Ear Training), develop skills (Sight Reading, Accompanying, Composition and Improvisation), explore new horizons (Organ, Harpsichord, Dance, Multi-media, Anatomy of the Piano, to name a few), and be involved in the excitement of making music together through piano ensembles and the Performance Forum.

Unknown to the media and many relatives and friends at the time, the five students were invited to perform at the residence of the Lt. Gov. & Mrs. Lemanu Peleti Mauga on June 13, which also served as a fundraiser for the students’ trip. 

The students and their parents expressed appreciation to Mrs. Pohakalani Mauga, a professional kumu hula and a patron of performing arts, who spearheaded the initiative after she and her husband attended their first Dancing Fingers performance two months earlier.  

Attended also by First Lady Cynthia Moliga, she gave opening remarks which included a challenge to the 25 invited women, who represented the local government, as well as a cross section of the private sector including religious and legislative representatives, to continue to nurture the talent young people have. Not only did the invited guests enjoy the music of Beethoven, Mozart, and Chopin, they also raised a substantial amount for the trip.

The University of Redlands is a private liberal arts and sciences university located in Redlands, California. It’s main campus is situated on 160 acres near downtown Redlands. The University of Redlands School of Music was founded along with the University as its School of Fine Arts. It is today an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music. The campus is conveniently located just off the I-10 freeway, approximately 90 minutes east of Los Angeles and 40 minutes west of Palm Springs.  

Source: Dancing Fingers media release