By Maxwell Shei, co-founder of Open Keys
As a 17-year old classical pianist and producer, music has been a huge part of my life for many years already at this point.
Whether it was through listening, performing, or producing, music has brought me through the darkest as well as the brightest points of my life, and has allowed me to make experiences and memories to cherish forever. I still remember the first time I performed in front of a large audience. I was still very young, but I remember the bright red Christmas cap I wore and the smiles on my parents’ faces afterwards.
I was lucky to have an opportunity to get on stage that young.
Fast forward to today, I've begun to produce rap music and I've even taught myself mixing. Now I'm also helping young artists get on stage in any way that I can. My experience navigating the music industry thus far has been somewhat local, but even in that scope, I've seen how treacherous it can be. I’m still trying to figure it all out.
As part of a school project, I decided to make a song with my friend, Sebastian. I wanted to produce the beat myself and not just rip one from YouTube, even though I had no idea how to. I looked up a beat tutorial and installed FL Studio, only to realize I couldn’t reopen my saved project in the free version. But we kept at it, and this led to the release of my first ever single, “Manson,” in 2025.
Of course, I had no idea how to promote a track, or whether my song was even good, or whether I'd ever make any money through this. But the more I worked on music, the happier I became. The next challenge I faced was where and how to find more artists to work with.
For all musicians and producers not living in big metropolitan cities, it's a challenge to find people to work with. It's even harder when you're 14 (and shy).
I think I sent over a thousand DM’s just to receive four to five responses, half of which were no use. But the one person who decided to work with me helped fuel my passion to bring me where I am today. Under the moniker Rildo, I’ve amassed over 30,000 monthly listeners, gained over 500,000 streams across platforms, and reached as high as #4 in a regional niche Spotify market. The experience inspired me to write my first album.
But was not interested in stopping there.
Ultimately, I wanted to perform more. But having been trained as a classical pianist and now doing more electronic music, I was new to that world. And my phone wasn't ringing with opportunities either. Getting recognized is not easy; it’s pretty obvious considering how many musicians there are, yet there's virtually an average musician or pianist can do to get their name out there without exorbitant amounts of money or connections.
Plus, beyond the handful of youth organizations and schools setting up recitals and showcases, musicians like myself have nearly nowhere to turn for getting "gigs." It was clear something in the system was getting in the way of providing my community with offers to perform live at great venues.
And it was clear someone had to do something about it.
One faithful night in 2025, while on call with Sebastian, I proposed the idea of an organization that provided performance opportunities to young musicians. That is how Open Keys started.
Open Keys is a youth-led nonprofit founded by me and my friend Sebastian Dang to provide performance opportunities to young musicians across Hawaii. We’ve helped over 150 students perform at some of the largest venues across Hawaii, such as The Ala Moana Center Stage, Royal Hawaiian Center, International Marketplace, Sheraton Waikiki, and much more.
On top of that, we've secured a partnership with the University of Hawaii Manoa, been featured in news outlets such as Hawaii News Now, Midweek, KHON, HPR, and more, and are beginning to work with nearly every large music school in Hawaii to build connections.
We manage everything from logistics to booking venues; we set everything so musicians can simply come out and perform. We try to focus on providing consistent high-quality performances for as many students as we can, as we believe everyone deserves this experience.
Everyone needs a chance, and everyone deserves a platform.
But of course, a nonprofit run by two juniors from Punahou in their busiest year is bound to run into some speed bumps. Surprisingly, we're not so bogged down by the actual workload, as although Sebastian and I spend a ton of time on Open Keys, we are passionate about what we do, and it allows things to flow smoothly.
The real problem came down to finding enough performers to fill the opportunities we had begun to secure. Not that people didn't want to play gigs, they didn't know about what we were building in the background.
We still face this problem today. Frustrating, but Sebastian and I keep persisting and reaching out to more teachers and more students in hopes of finding performers.
But the real takeaway for artists and musicians here is that if you're truly passionate about what you do, no goal should be unattainable.
I was a slightly-above-average pianist and a mediocre music producer, but because I loved what I do, I was able to create Open Keys, providing performance opportunities for others, and occasionally, myself. I was able to fulfill my dream of performing. Up-and-coming artists get the chance to perform their music. Bands and groups gain experience when working together.
Just because I didn’t get a response in the first few DMs doesn’t mean I stopped responding.
We completely changed the music landscape here in Hawaii, and we hope to spread it across the nation. But it's important to always take care of your local community first. Those will be the strongest bonds you form in your life, so don't neglect your neighbors.
My vision is that everyone should be able to have high-quality performance opportunities and a pathway to recognition, yet the system stops many musicians from even getting a chance.
What I've learned on this journey is that if a door is locked and you can't find anyone with a key, build a new door yourself. And keep it unlocked.
If you're an aspiring artist, there is always a way to make yourself known. Maybe there's an Open Keys where you're from. And if not, there's always a way to forge your own path to success.
Maxwell Shei is a 17-year-old junior at Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is a classical pianist and a music producer under the name Rildo. He started piano when he was six and started making music in 2021. He is also a founder of Open Keys, a youth-led nonprofit that provides performance opportunities to young musicians. He loves music and chemistry, and he plans to major in Chemical Engineering in college.
