By Teamai Teave | Executive Director NGO Toki Rapa Nui
These are just some of all the amazing things that are happening at our school...
Beautiful Concert by Our Choirs and Youth Ensemble
This past July, a remarkable concert took place at the Hotel Nayara Hanga Roa, showcasing the results of the work carried out throughout 2025 across various musical programs.
On that occasion, a large children’s choir performed, made up of students from the three choral workshops we currently offer — at Toki, Lorenzo Baeza Vega School, and Hermano Eugenio Eyraud School. Also taking part were the band of residents from the “Hare Koa Tiare” Elderly Center and the youth and adult community choir that we lead at the island’s Church.
The atmosphere was truly moving — the stage was filled with energy and joy as multiple generations came together to perform a song from The Lion King in unison.During the event, the Toki Youth Ensemble also had the opportunity to perform its own repertoire and to accompany the choirs in several pieces.This major presentation was conducted by soprano Cynthia Lemarie and flutist and multi-instrumentalist Hermes Villalobos, who have been leading Toki’s choral, band, and ensemble program since the beginning of the year, as part of our Community Orchestra initiative.
Spanish Conductor Visits Toki Students and Teachers
We are incredibly fortunate to welcome renowned musicians to our school. Such was the case with Spanish conductor Daniel Abad, who joined us as part of his educational tour “The Magic of Teaching Through Music and Emotion.”
Our teachers were invited by the Municipality of Rapa Nui and the Flich Foundation to participate in workshops exploring music’s transformative power, emotions, and leadership.
Daniel also held a special workshop and interactive session with Toki’s students.
This talented pianist and Principal Conductor of the Chamber Orchestra of the Valencian Community praised Toki as “an inspiring example of how music can be a powerful driver of sensitivity and social transformation”.
Painting Workshop Consolidates
To foster oral traditions and artistic talent among children and youth, we now offer a free acrylic painting workshop, open to the entire community.
This class is currently taught by visual artist Tauroa Aguilera Hey.
Toki as a Refuge for Biodiversity in Rapa Nui
Thanks to the support of Bosko, Explora, and CONAF, we became the first accelerated-growth pilot forest in Rapa Nui, inspired by the Japanese Miyawaki method.
More than 40 participants —including students from the Aldea Educativa, the Waldorf School, families, and members of the community— took part in the planting of 500 trees from 20 species cultivated on the island, selected for their ecological and cultural value.
This new Toki Forest not only aims to restore degraded soils and promote water infiltration, but also to become a refuge for biodiversity that keeps ancestral knowledge alive.
This participatory ecological restoration is part of our focus on environmental care, where both our students and visitors to Toki can learn about sustainability, identity, and respect for the environment.
Continuing Our Outreach Concerts
In recent months, our teachers Mahani Teave, Yarella Alvear, Elizabeth Despouse, and Alejandro Arévalo have performed in concert, delighting audiences with their talent and creativity.
These free, community-oriented performances are part of Toki’s Outreach Program, providing the opportunity to experience high-level performances in piano, violin, and cello, bringing classical music closer to the island’s community.
Our weekly radio program is another platform through which we share classical music and its instruments’ sounds with the public.
Watch a video of pianist Alejandro Arévalo performing his original compositions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leoVWa4oUWg
Educational Visit to Motu Motiro Hiva
As part of our educational and environmental work, 28 members of Toki —alongside other Rapa Nui organizations— participated in a historic expedition organized by the Chilean Navy and Fundación Ao Tupuna, aboard the Navy vessel Aquiles: a three-day journey to Motu Motiro Hiva (Salas y Gómez Island), located 391 km east of Rapa Nui.
The visit to this biodiversity sanctuary and scientific research site sought to strengthen environmental education among our school’s children and youth, in line with the comprehensive education we aim to provide. It also fostered awareness of environmental care and the importance of protecting marine ecosystems.
The mission had two main objectives: to bring the Moai Hatu Henua statue to the islet, where it was installed facing Rapa Nui —a tribute to the voyages of our ancestors to this distant place— and to carry out microplastic cleanup activities that protect the birds and fish nesting there.
Throughout the journey, the music of our students and teachers accompanied the expedition, reminding us that art, culture, and the environment are deeply interconnected, in harmony with the holistic education we strive to offer our community.
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