Kumu Cherylyn Inouye was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, on the Big Island of Hawaii. Kumu Inouye is of Chinese heritage. She's lived on Kauai for most of her life, other than four years of college in Colorado and another four years teaching on the mainland.
This middle-school teacher has been around the ukulele all of her life. She learned to play ukulele simply by watching her mother play and then trying it out herself. When she took hula her Kumu Hula encouraged her to keep playing the ukulele. Kumu Inouye never had any formal musical training. Today she is the director of the Kapaa Middle School Ukulele Band.
Kumu Cherylyn's ukulele is a Kamaka which was once her mother's. Her favorite songs are classic Hawaiian songs, such as "Pua Olena." Kumu says that playing the ukulele is very personal. Each ukulele player needs to develop their own style. She teaches people of all ages to play the ukulele.
Kumu has this advice for all ukulele players, "Playing the ukulele comes from the heart -- just follow your heart."