Meet the teachers.

Mr. Mento.

Mr. Mento is a musician of many talents. His skills include euphonium, guitar, singing, song-writing, and music production. He began playing the euphonium at the age of 12 in the small town of Papaikou, Hawai’i. He went on to continue his music studies, receiving his Bachelor of Education from Indiana University in 2017.

Currently, Mr. Mento works full-time as the band/chorus/ukulele/popular music teacher at a public high school in Hawai’i and part-time as the music director for a variety of community theater programs. His recent credits including music/vocal directorship of HEART Hilo’s productions of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”, Chicago, and Grease.

Ms. Shinagawa.

Ms. Shinagawa began studying flute at the age of 11 with Karla Myers and continued her studies at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa with Sabrina Saiki-Mita. She received her Bachelor of Education from the university in 2019 and began her public school teaching career shortly after. As a proud life-long learner, Ms. Shinagawa continued her education while working full-time as a public school teacher and received her Master of Arts in Music Education from UHM in 2025.

Currently, Ms. Shinagawa works full-time as the band/chorus/ukulele/piano teacher at a 7-12 public school in Hawai’i.