Roy Sakuma
An ʻukulele player, promoter, and producer, Roy Sakuma is first and foremost a teacher. He is unquestionably the most prolific and successful ʻukulele teacher of all time. Roy and his staff have inspired many thousands of students at the Roy Sakuma Ukulele Studios. In 1971, he organized the first ʻukulele festival in Honolulu and staged the festival annually for 50 years, always showcasing his talented students. In addition, the Roy Sakuma Productions record label has produced numerous award-winning ʻukulele-related recordings. Along with his beloved wife Kathy, Roy has devoted his life to the Hawaiian ʻukulele world for over half a century.
Roy Sakuma, founder of the world's first and most successful ʻukulele festival, has been a towering central figure in the modern era in his multiple roles as a ʻukulele player, teacher, impresario, and producer.
Sakuma first picked up the ʻukulele as a child, taking lessons from Ohta-San as a teenager and eventually becoming an instructor in his mentor's studio. He was working full-time as a groundskeeper with the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation when he put on what he optimistically called the First Annual Ukulele Festival in 1971.
His optimism was justified: the free festival became one of Honolulu's biggest annual events, featuring the best ʻukulele artists from the Islands and guest musicians from the mainland, Canada, Asia, Europe, Australia, Oceania, and Latin America. Working with his wife Kathy, Sakuma continued his teaching career by opening the first Sakuma Ukulele Studio in 1974, expanding to three other locations that over the years have taught tens of thousands of students how to play. Roy has taught many of today's great ʻukulele players, including Jake Shimabukuro.
With his Roy Sakuma Productions label, Sakuma has produced and released Nā Hōkū Hanohano award-winning albums and songs by such leading artists as Herb Ohta Sr., Lyle Ritz, the Kaʻau Crater Boys, and Palolo.
Although the Sakumas retired from festival production in 2022, their non-profit Ukulele Festival Hawaiʻi continues to help produce other ʻukulele festivals, encourage interest in Hawaiʻi's arts and culture through education and scholarships, and to foster local and international interest in the ʻukulele as an instrument of virtuoso quality.