A Legacy of Music Education in Hawaiʻi
About STEH
STEH is a non-profit organization of parents, families, violin students and teachers dedicated and committed to promoting the educational philosophy of Dr. Shinichi Suzuki. Dr. Suzuki´s method is based upon the most natural form of learning known to mankind, the way that children effortlessly seem to pick up their native tongue.
Our History
Founded in Honolulu in 1991, STEH was established by Hiroko Primrose and Helen Higa, shortly after Mrs. Primrose moved to Hawaiʻi. Their vision was rooted in Dr. Shinichi Suzuki’s belief that “When Love is Deep, Much Can Be Accomplished.”
The Suzuki Method is inspired by the way children naturally learn their first language. Through listening, repetition, encouragement, and consistent practice in a supportive environment, children can develop musical ability while also growing in confidence, focus, and perseverance.
Mrs. Primrose's influence on Suzuki education in Hawaiʻi was profound. Although she passed away in 1998, her eight years of teaching and leadership left a lasting legacy. Under her guidance, STEH nurtured generations of young musicians and helped establish a strong Suzuki community on Oʻahu.
In 2006, Mrs. Primrose was posthumously honored at the National Suzuki Association of the Americas Teacher Conference in Minneapolis. Her vision continues to shape STEH today, and we are proud to carry forward the values she brought to our community.
Our Community
Today, STEH brings together more than 100 young violinists, ages 4–17, from nearly 20 schools across Oʻahu. We provide opportunities for students to learn, perform, collaborate, and grow together beyond their individual lessons.
Throughout the year, STEH offers:
-Student recitals and performances
-Monthly group lessons
-Community service performances at hospitals and senior care communities
-Our annual weeklong Spring Break Workshop at Punahou Music School
The Spring Break Workshop is a special highlight of the STEH year. Suzuki teachers from Hawaiʻi, the mainland United States, and Japan join us to work with our students, introducing new perspectives and opportunities to explore everything from Suzuki repertoire to fiddling and jazz improvisation.
STEH is an independent nonprofit organization. While many of our students study at Punahou Music School, STEH operates independently and provides additional educational and community opportunities for its members.
For more than 30 years, STEH has been bringing students, families, and teachers together through music—and creating a community where young musicians can thrive.
Meet the teachers
Kysha Bradshaw
Suzuki Program Director, Instructor (Private/Group Violin, Viola, Cello)
BA (Brigham Young University)
Major teachers include Hiroko Primrose and Nell Gotkovsky. Bradshaw has appeared as a soloist with the Utah Valley and Utah Symphonies, and has performed internationally with her family and students. Bradshaw won first place in the MTNA Collegiate Chamber Music Competition with her BYU piano quartet. With over thirty years of private lesson teaching experience, she has also directed chamber music and orchestra groups since 2001, including two youth orchestras at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Bradshaw also established the Bay Area Youth Symphony in Houston. She loves playing and teaching a wide range of music, including fiddling and Irish music.
Bradshaw has taught at Punahou since 2024.
Helen Higa
Our Suzuki Talent Education of Hawai`i President Helen Higa comes from a family of music teachers and was born and raised in Honolulu. She studied with Dr. Suzuki for two and a half years in Matsumoto, Japan, receiving her Teacher Certification from him in 1973. Her other teachers include William Starr, Louise Behrend, and Gerald Beal. In 1983, Ms. Higa became a Certified Teacher of the Alexander Technique from the American Center for the Alexander Technique in New York City, where she taught in the center's Teacher Training Program until returning to Hawai`i in 1987. Before returning to Hawai`i, Ms. Higa's positions include teaching at the University of Tennessee's Suzuki Program, New York's School for Strings, and the Diller-Quaile School of Music.
In 1990 she began teaching with the late Hiroko Primrose, who founded the Suzuki program at the Punahou Music School. In recent years, Ms. Higa has enjoyed exploring how Alexander Technique principles can offer insights and can complement her students' understanding of Dr. Suzuki's violin pedagogy and philosophy. A former member of the Honolulu Symphony, Ms. Higa is now performing in the Hawai`i Symphony Orchestra.
Lauren Holt
Lauren began her Suzuki journey at the age of two and a half. An Iowa native, she is a graduate of the Preucil School of Music in Iowa City, Iowa where she studied under Kimberly Meier-Sims and Christie Felsing. She attended Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH, and graduated magna cum laude with degrees in Music Education and Violin Performance.
Holt earned a Master's Degree in Violin Performance with an emphasis in Suzuki Pedagogy from Southern Illinois University studying under Vera McCoy-Sulentic and Dr. Lenora Anop. She has completed Level 1 Orff-Schulwerk training and has studied Music Mind Games Unit 1 and 2 with founder Michiko Yurko. Lauren teaches Suzuki & traditional violin at Punahou School , is on the coaching faculty of the Punahou Chamber Music Program, is a member of Kai Quartet, and is a substitute with the Hawai`i Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Neela Kinariwala
Neela Kinariwala began studying the violin at age twelve in her hometown of Honolulu, Hawai`i and later graduated from the University of Hawai`i with a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance. She then studied at the University of Texas at Austin, completing a Master's and a Ph.D. in Music Theory. While attending UT, she continued her violin studies with Leonard Posner, former Concertmaster of the Austin Symphony Orchestra.
During the 34 years she lived in Austin, Dr. Kinariwala performed for 33 years as a member of the Austin Symphony and for 15 years with the Austin Lyric Opera Orchestra. After graduating from the University of Texas in 1987, Dr. Kinariwala completed Suzuki training classes in order to become a certified Suzuki violin teacher and then taught many students in Austin, including her own daughter, over the next 25 years. Dr. Kinariwala and her husband moved back to Honolulu, where she currently enjoys being a member of the Suzuki team at Punahou Music School.