Kainga Music established its non-profit corporation 501(c)(3) in 2014 with a mission statement Creating Music, Uniting People, Building Communities. Music is uplifting, healing, and gives the opportunity for starting and strengthening the bond between people of different backgrounds, genders, and ages. The featured instrument in the school, the steel pan, is played throughout the country of origin, Trinidad & Tobago, in community centers called “Panyards” that welcome the variety of members in the surrounding neighborhoods to find a common place and common voice. 

Kainga Music’s Founder, Keli Ross-Ma’u, has a vision for the school to be modeled more like a Panyard. Keli chose the word “Kainga” from his Tongan heritage, which means “extended family,” to help embody the intention of community-building as the core goal of Kainga Music. Our music school has a focus on learning and performance of music as an extension and expression of that shared bonding experience between the students and audience members alike.