Piano professor Dr. Jonathan Korth teaches a piano student in his studio.

Studying Piano at UH Mānoa

The Music Department offers two degrees in Piano Performance: a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance (BM), and a Master of Music in Piano Performance (MM).

Our Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance offer pianists intensive training for performing careers as soloists, chamber musicians and collaborative artists, and provides qualifications for post-secondary and private studio teaching. The culminating experience for both degree programs is a full-length memorized public recital.

The Bachelor of Arts is a broader liberal arts degree that can be customized for each student to accommodate individual needs and interests. The culminating experience for this degree program is a half-length memorized public recital.

The Piano Faculty consists of Dr. Jonathan KorthDr. Thomas YeeBichuan LiRosy Wang, and Wendy Yamashita. We are dedicated to achieving the highest academic, artistic and professional standards for our students.

Performance opportunities at UHM are plentiful. The Piano Faculty offers Piano Studio Classes where all piano majors meet weekly in Orvis Auditorium to perform for each other in a friendly and nurturing environment for constructive feedback. Piano Repertory Labs are lunch time recitals, four per semester, that are open to the public. Pianists are also encouraged to compete in our annual University of Hawai‘i Concerto Competition for an opportunity to perform a concerto with the University of Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra at the Neal Blaisdell Center Concert Hall. Students may enroll and participate in a plethora of ensembles. Piano related ensembles include Chamber Music, Piano Vocal Collaboration, Contemporary Music Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble. The University of Hawai‘i’s Music Department is well known for its multitude of ethnic ensembles.

Our recently renovated and spacious practice rooms are climate and humidity controlled, featuring many new Steinway and Petrov pianos providing piano students ample time for practice.

Our piano students have opportunities to engage in Honolulu’s vibrant piano scene. The Hawai‘i Symphony OrchestraHonolulu Chamber Music SeriesChamber Music Hawai‘i, and other arts organizations regularly engage noteworthy pianists. Students are encouraged to become members of the Honolulu Piano Teachers Association (HPTA), Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) and the Hawai‘i Music Teachers Association (HMTA) who organize an annual state convention as well as a biennial Pianomania, a multi-piano collaborative event.

In addition to Piano Studies, the University of Hawai‘i Music Department provides training in applied music, music theory, composition, musicology, ethnomusicology, music education, conducting, and music technology.