Masaki School of Music

1347 Kapiolani Boulevard, Honolulu, HI 96814

"Beware that if the teacher(s) cut the lesson short, the school doesn't care to address the problem since tuition is prepaid in advance and for certain teachers it is one month in advance. I had complained in writing with no response. You will be trapped with their student withdrawal policy that would trap you for another month if the teacher doesn't work. COVID policy has not changed bc it's teacher dependent. They don't follow the latest general CDC guidelines. This became an issue for my special needs child who refused to mask for the teacher as it's required for this teacher. So my child got stuck with online lessons. I paid over $10K in tuition to this school and 3 years were done online. He struggled to learn online and did not learn more than 8 songs or so. So that's over a thousand a song and as a single parent I became deeply bothered. To be in person for the teacher he's familiar with, my child would have to mask up in person and follow stringent COVID protocol like it was in 2019. My child acted out online and lessons would be cut short with the promise of future make-ups with no definite dates scheduled due to the teacher's scheduling. There were a few paid lessons that were cut short and now lost forever after I took my child off Masaki. Requesting refund for the tuition prepaid in advance was not easy. Yet to receive any after more than one month. Still waiting and ignored emails. Masaki would only respond to compliments but when there are any problems you are not a concern because they had the money. My child is currently taking lessons from a new teacher. Doing better in person. Learning 2 new songs in one month and tuition is paid after each lesson. No shortened lesson with the new teacher who is extremely patient in person and would give my child 15 to 20 minutes and would only ask for payment for 30 minutes. Buyer beware of the school policy with COVID protocol and prepaid tuition. If you prepay, you're at risk of limited or zero recourse because full service delivery is not certainty with Masaki."

"The instructors are the best in Hawaii. They have an early childhood music program that my nephew took and he learned so much from that. Highly recommended!"

"Awesome school, holds my two daughters at a higher standard. I'm very satisfied of their teaching style. Thanks to Ms. Rosy Wong."

"This is a great music school to enroll children to learn the various music instruments. I am so glad I enrolled my son to learn piano. He now is able to read the music notes and play simple pieces. Great school and very talented teachers."

"My son has been taking piano lessons at Masaki School of Music for 3 years now. The school has a long tradition of educating young musicians of all levels, but has excelled at producing many students that have gone on to perform at the highest levels. The main thing for me is that he enjoys his musical experience. The environment at the school fosters participation with regular recitals, public performance and annual Christmas programs. These are optional but fun. There is ample opportunity for students to interact and compare their personal progress with others. Masaki School of Music was founded by the legendary Ellen Masaki over 55 years ago. Today her daughter Nancy operates the school. As a professional musician and teacher, she ensures the traditional excellence of the instruction while keeping it engaging for the students. They have a roster of qualified teachers on staff in order to match the abilities and personalities of the students with the instructors. All of the instructors have years of experience with some of them part of the University faculty. While the school is best known for piano, they have excellent violin, cello, guitar, voice and other music instruction available."