Emmaline Kealoha
Hi, my name is Emmaline Kealoha!
I am a Music Performance Major at UCF studying Percussion!
As a UCF Percussion Performance Major, I have a lot of experience on the stage. From the UCF Pegasus Ballroom, to Dr. Phillips Center’s Steinmetz Hall, I have performed with many of UCF’s ensembles, including UCF Symphonic Band, UCF Concert Band, UCF Percussion Ensemble, and UCF Steel Band.
With experience on many percussion instruments, including marimba, xylophone, vibraphone, snare drum, timpani, multipercussion, marching tenors, and more, I am well rounded and am always looking for more opportunities to play!
I also play violin and actively perform with the instrument in UCF Symphony Orchestra and UCF Video Game Music Ensemble.
I play cello and actively perform in the UCF University Orchestra as well as take performance opportunities for weddings and churches.
In the works, I am going to be part of a Bodhran, Accordion and Violin trio with Evan Carville and Joseph Cassidy, in which we will play Irish tunes.
I am currently teaching at Dr. Phillips High School and West Orange High School. I have experience teaching drumline and front ensemble for both schools, along with Colonial High School.
As for composing and arranging, I wrote the percussion book for Colonial High School 2024 season. I also wrote a string ensemble arrangement of Minecraft music for the Video Game Music Ensemble Fall 2025 performance.
Bio
Recorded PERFORMANCES
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This was the recording of my Junior BM Recital in February 2026. It features works from George Hamilton Greene, Tim Collins and more!
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I performed this during UCF’s Gordon Stout/Heather Thorn concert, which featured many of Stout’s works along with fun xylophone rags with soloists from the studio. Performers in this recording include: Ashley Gilbert, Caleb Schmaus, Samantha Matter, and Joseph Cassidy. Dr Thad Anderson assisted with the recording process, which I greatly appreciate. This piece was so much fun!
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This was my first professional recording. I worked on this piece throughout my first semester in college. I feel like this piece helped me grow within my technique and expression. I am grateful to the UCF music program for this amazing opportunity!
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This is an ensemble work written by John Psathas, in which we performed for him when he visited UCF. The ensemble members were Sam Flores, Matthew Brandt and Ashley Schmauss along with myself of course:) I did the video editing along with the help of the members of the ensemble and Dr. Thad Anderson.
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This was my first live performance of a marimba solo! I was extremely excited to share this piece with my fellow percussion friends at West Orange High School. This was just months before graduation and I was honestly so proud of the growth I had made within myself to get to that moment. This song was the end of one journey and the start of a new one. I auditioned for the UCF Percussion Studio with this piece.
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This recording features a large prtion of the 2025-2026 Percussion Studio. I am playing crotales, while there are many other members playing mallets, multipercussion, and other unique timbres. Dean Jeff Moore is featured on the marching snare drum.
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I played this fairly soon after my performance of “Strive to be Happy”. I put together a group for Solo and Ensemble to play this piece. We decided that it was just too fun to not play for people, so we convinced our band directors to allow us to play at the Spring 2023 Jazz concert at West Orange High School.
Carly Nguyen (Marimba 1)
Rylan Maday (Marimba 2)
Kyle Baldonado (Marimba 3)
Alessa Diaz-Urbiola (Marimba 4)
Joel McMann (Drumset)
I was very proud of this group. Everyone playing the marimba parts here were high school freshman at the time which was extremely impressive. We all grew together, which made this final performance of Xylophonia, super special.
Contact Me!
If you want to work with me on any music related projects, or if you just wanna get to know me, feel free to reach out!