Kani ka ʻōpala

The kani ka ʻōpala project* began as an exercise in applied ecomusicology: how to repurpose everyday discards (ʻōpala) found on the streets of Oʻahu and encourage students to examine our consumptive habits. The initial result was MUS311, a 1-credit ensemble dedicated to exploring the music of Thailand with instruments built in class and sourced from salvaged items. It has since expanded into the projects featured on this site.

_{*kani ka ʻōpala is a play on “kani ka pila”, the backyard jam session on stringed instruments (pila) in Hawaiʻi (whereas ʻōpala= rubbish)}