A Happy Instrument

From hipsters to hard-core players, Ukulele Club welcomes all.

Peter Hartman started playing the ukulele in sixth grade, and thanks to lessons from his grandfather and YouTube videos, he picked up the Hawaiian stringed instrument pretty quickly. During his first year of high school in Overland Park, Kan., Hartman started his first ukulele club, which morphed into a major organization, with more than 50 members.

When he came to Northwestern, Hartman had no intention of starting another club, but he met ukulele players everywhere he went — in his dorm, the South Mid-Quads; in the Northwestern University Marching Band; even in his 10-person Peer Adviser group.

So Hartman started the Associated Student Government–recognized Ukulele Club. Its first meeting had nearly 50 attendees, including some who had never played the instrument but own a ukulele — mostly because they look cool.

“We’re very encouraging of hipsters who just want to be trendy and play ukuleles in their hammocks,” he says. “We’re accepting and inclusive. I’d rather have a group of people who enjoy hanging out together than some cutthroat performance group.”

Hartman has big plans for the club. He’s working with the president of the Hawaii Club on a joint luau. He wants to offer serenades for Valentine’s Day and sorority events. Hartman also wants to do street performance in Evanston to raise money for the homeless and to perform at Relay for Life.

But performances and fundraisers will never be the Ukulele Club’s priority.

“The ukulele is a really happy instrument,” Hartman says. “We’re just trying to make sure everyone has a good time.”