2026 E Mele Kākou
Elementary Choral Festival
E Mele Kākou, the Elementary Choral Festival, is cosponsored by Hawai‘i ACDA and the Hawai‘i Youth Opera Chorus. This festival aims to provide elementary-aged students with an enriching choral experience. Each participating school and community choir will engage in activities focused on basic musical concepts, vocal techniques, and hula. The festival offers an opportunity for young singers to share their music with all attendees. This collaborative event creates a comprehensive and memorable musical experience for our youngest choral singers.
HI-ACDA and HYOC Present
E Mele Kākou 2026
Elementary Choral Festival Concert
Saturday April 18th, 2026 | Festival Concert 2:30PM
Kawaiahaʻo Church
The Hawaiʻi Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association, in partnership with the Hawaiʻi Youth Opera Chorus, presents the 2026 E Mele Kākou: All-State Elementary Choral Festival on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at Kawaiahaʻo Church. This year’s festival will feature guest clinician Mia-Amor Porreca, who will lead participating students through a day of collaborative music-making and learning.
Registration closes February 28, 2026. The student registration fee includes a festival T-shirt, lunch, and festival participation. Music will be provided at registration. Purchase orders are accepted.
Mia-Amor Porreca
E Mele Kākou 2026 Festival Clinician
Mia-Amor Porreca is a passionate music educator, conductor, and advocate for children’s choral music. With nearly 20 years of experience teaching and directing music in Hawai‘i’s schools, she is known for her joyful, student-centered approach and her ability to inspire young singers to perform with confidence and heart.
Mia-Amor holds undergraduate degrees in Music Education and Performance from Chapman University as well as a Masters of Education from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She currently teaches at Punahou School, where she directs the 5th Grade Choir and co-teaches the middle school Music Explorations and Hawaiian Music programs. She also serves as a worship leader at her church, Bluewater Mission.
Mia’s work blends vocal technique, musical literacy, and cultural connection, creating inclusive spaces where every child feels the power and beauty of their voice. We are honored to have Mia as the clinician for the 2026 E Mele Kākou All-State Elementary Choral festival and look forward to making music together with Hawai‘i’s talented young voices.
Lauren Kanoelani Chang Williams
E Mele Kākou 2026 Festival Kumu Hula
A lifelong seeker of knowledge, Kumu Kanoe studied with her first Kumu Hula, Leimomi I Maldonado, of Ka Hale I o Kāhala for over 20 years before completing an ʻūniki (graduation requirements) which allowed her to open her own hālau in 2010. She currently teaches hula out of her family home in Nuʻuanu and also teaches choir, general music and ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) at Punahou School in Mānoa.
Wendy Chang
E Mele Kākou 2026 Festival Accompanist
Wendy has both her BA and MA in Piano Performances from the University of Hawaii Manoa. She has been the accompanist of HYOC since 1987. She has been a lecturer at the University of Hawaii Manoa Music Department and teaches piano privately. She is the Elementary Music Teacher at Maryknoll School teaching grades K – 5, and the director of the school choir since 2004. She is a member of HMTA & ACDA. She is Kodally Certified Levels 1, 2 & 3. She is Orff Certified in Levels 1 & 2. Wendy is Bilingual in Mandarin Chinese & English.
The Hawaiʻi Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association 