HONOLULU — As part of the 100th anniversary of the University of Hawaii Bands, nearly 150 saxophonists gathered at the SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center on Saturday in an attempt to set a world record for a dedicated saxophone performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and “Hawaiʻi Ponoʻi.”

What You Need To Know

  • The extended group of saxophonists ranging from age keiki to kupuna performed before the UH men’s basketball game against Long Beach State, nearly filling the basketball court

  • Nakamura said she will submit the video recording to Guinness World Records

The extended group of saxophonists ranging in age from keiki to kupuna performed before the UH men’s basketball game against Long Beach State nearly filling the basketball court. Many of the musicians were UH students and alumni.

“Having all these saxophones ranging from 6th grade to 70 years old was amazing. This is a once-in-a-lifetime performance in honor of the UH Bands 100th anniversary,” said Gwen Nakamura, UH Manoa assistant director of bands and UH Manoa alumna, in a news release. Nakamura also performed with the group.

Nakamura said she will submit the video recording to Guinness World Records. Performance courtesy of University of Hawaii News YouTube channel:

“I was excited to see so many saxophonists gather together to make music,” said Hoku Matsushita, a UH Manoa fourth year music education major. “I was glad to see that our community in Hawaii is filled with energy and love for music.”

UH Bands partnered with the nonprofit Hawaii Saxophone Foundation for the performance. The foundation’s goal is to raise awareness and education of the saxophone in Hawaii. Renowned saxophonist, alum and longtime UH Manoa saxophone lecturer Todd Yukumoto is the organization’s president.

“What we were trying to do is bring awareness to our foundation and to help celebrate 100 years for the UH Bands, so it was a win-win,” Yukumoto said. “We want to build a community of saxophone players and we’re doing it slowly. But having an event like this can really help bring it to the public eye.”

The band program started in 1923 as an 18-member drum and bugle corps that has since grown to over 300 students performing in the UH Rainbow Warrior Marching Band, three concert bands and five pep bands entertaining more than 400,000 spectators annually at sports events, concerts and campus events.

In Dec. 2023, the Honolulu City Council presented the University of Hawaii Bands with an honorary certificate recognizing its centennial anniversary.

On September 1, the 300-plus member marching band debuted new uniforms – for the first time in 22 years – at UH’s football home opener against Stanford.

Upcoming events to celebrate the 100th anniversary include a 100 Year Anniversary Gala on April 27 at the UHM Campus Center Ballrooms and an Aloha Concert on April 28 at McKinley High School Auditorium (tickets TBA).

Sarah Yamanaka covers events, environmental and community news for Spectrum News Hawaii. She can be reached at sarah.yamanaka@charter.com.