Apr 10, 2025
From left to right, Peter Della Croce (accepting for Zachary Bush), RubyVal Ybarra, Aria Cuthbertson, Sebastian Bautista and Pops’ Executive Director Cheryl Lindley pose for a photo. Photo Courtesy Lorne Direnfeld
At their annual Spring concerts since 2014, the Maui Pops Orchestra has awarded scholarships to Maui youth. Named after a Pops’ founding member, the Auriol Flavell Student Scholarship Awards for Young Musicians has so far given out $40,000.
Four awards were presented at the Pop’s concert with Raiatea Helm on March 23 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center.
Haleakala Waldorf High School graduating senior RubyVal Ybarra and Seabury Hall graduating senior Zachary Bush each received $2,000, while Baldwin High School graduating senior Sebastian Bautista and Haleakala Waldorf High School graduating senior Aria Cuthbertson were awarded $500.
Performing in the percussion section of the Pops for three seasons, this is the second time Bush has received a scholarship. “I was super excited because now I’m a senior getting ready to go to college,” said Bush.
For Ybarra, who has played with the Pops since she was 12, being recognized with a scholarship “was amazing. I’ve played viola my entire life and so getting that kind of gratification was awesome.”
And for Cuthbertson looking toward college, “knowing that I have a community that’s supporting me was really amazing,” she said about the award. “Getting the applause while I was being handed the award was really incredible.”
Specializing in piano and trumpet, Bush added percussion to his repertoire during COVD when “we couldn’t play wind instruments at Seabury,” he explained. Invited to play percussion with the Pops, he recalled, “I like fell in love after the first rehearsal. This is one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in my life.”
Playing in Seabury Hall’s band, he developed a love for jazz at a Berklee College of Music summer program. “That was when I was first introduced to jazz improvisation and that is my favorite thing ever now,” he said. “When I’m not in the Maui Pops, I’m improvising on my trumpet at home every single day.”
Bush hopes to combine a degree in business and music education to help provide affordable music tutoring on Maui. “I was thinking I could do something that can provide education or tutoring or even lessons to kids here because I’d never want someone else to be limited. I definitely want to do something and bring it back to Maui because I know there’s going to be other kids like me out there.”
Ybarra also hopes to use her music training to help people. Looking forward to attending Colorado State University majoring in psychology with a minor in music performance, she is interested in having a therapy practice to serve women and girls, especially those who have been abused, and incorporate music.
“I’ve always wanted to practice some sort of therapy because I just love helping people and I love listening to people’s problems,” Ybarra explained.
Initially learning violin, she switched to viola after hearing her teacher Teresa Skinner perform the Telemann “Viola Concerto” with the Maui Chamber Orchestra in 2016.
Playing with the Pops “was just amazing the first time I ever went,” she said. “Just all the sound around me was amazing.”
With her future goal of focusing on women and children, “that’s where I find the most gratification,” she said. “And I’ve always wanted to find something where I could incorporate my love for music.”
Cuthbertson has also played viola as a member of the Maui Pops since her freshman year. “I just love being on stage,” she said. “It’s just a really unique feeling, feeling how my part fits in with everyone else’s. It’s like being inside of a song and seeing how the sound is made and how it all fits together. That’s been a really cool experience for me.”
Planning to earn a BS in Mechanical Engineering to become an aerospace engineer, she was inspired by her grandfather. “He was a Boeing engineer,” she explained. “My other hobby besides viola is building model rockets.”
The fourth award recipient, Sebastian Bautista, plays trombone with the Baldwin High School pep band and concert band. He has also been assisting with Waihe’e Elementary School’s after-school music program. This has inspired him to consider majoring in music education.
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