UH-Mānoa Professor of Musicology Dr. Kate McQuiston – a leader in the study of music in film and media – has had her latest book published, an examination of director Michel Gondy’s use of music and sound. Michel Gondry’s directorial work buzzes with playfulness and invention: in a body of work that includes feature films such as Eternal Sunshine of …
Symphony orchestra takes virtual stage with Amy Hānaialiʻi
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Symphony Orchestra members are not letting COVID-19 restrictions stop them from sharing the gift of music. Under the direction of Director and Assistant Professor Joseph Stepec, the fall 2020 ensemble presented a virtual performance of “Queen’s Anthem” by Denny Miyasato and arranged by Michael-Thomas Foumai, a UH Mānoa music lecturer. The piece features six-time Grammy nominee and 18-time Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award winner …
UH-Mānoa Composer Donald Reid Womack’s “Labyrinth”
Although the world has drastically changed over the past few months due to the Coronavirus pandemic, musicians and organizations have adapted and found creative ways to share music with audiences. In response to the cancellation of live performances, the top institution for Korean music, the National Gugak Center, held a competition for performing ensembles, in which two different groups entered …
The UH Mānoa Music Department welcomes Dr. Elina Hamilton
The Music Department is excited to welcome musicologist Dr. Elina Hamilton, whose research explores the history of music theory in fourteenth-century England, as Assistant Professor of Musicology. Before arriving in Hawaiʻi, Dr. Hamilton taught courses at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. She is also an editorial board member of the East Asian Journal of …
Barbara B. Smith: The legacy of a long life in music
In honor of Professor Emerita Barbara B. Smith’s 100th birthday, Arlene Abiang shows why Prof. Smith is a cherished member of the UH-Mānoa music ʻohana “A celebration of a person’s 100th birthday is not unusual when a person reaches that milestone in life; however for me, though I never expected to reach it, the year 2020 is more important as …
Composer Donald Reid Womack awarded prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Professor of Music Composition and Theory Donald Reid Womack was named a 2020 Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. The Guggenheim Fellowship is one of the major competitions for the arts and other fields. Womack is among a diverse group of 175 writers, scholars, artists and scientists from the U.S. and Canada to receive the achievement. The candidates were chosen through a …
Nā Wai Chamber Choir Performs at ACDA Conference
This past march, the music department’s choral ensemble-in-residence, Nā Wai Chamber Choir, was invited to perform at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Western Region Conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Known for the preservation, propagation, and innovation of Hawaiian vocal music, Nā Wai Chamber Choir was one of the first ensembles of its kind to perform at the ACDA …
Return from French Polynesia
JANE FREEMAN MOULIN has returned to teaching after a 6-month return fieldwork period in French Polynesia. Research activity included: the presentation of four public lectures on Marquesan music and two lectures on Tahitian music and dance; a visit to the Marquesas Islands and the renewal of contacts with long-term co-workers and friends from the 1989 TSOM Survey in the Marquesas …
Pioneer of Korean Ethnomusicology
This past summer, Dr. Byong Lee was interviewed for his musical biography, to be released by the National Gugak Center of the Ministry of Culture, Information, Tourism and Sports of South Korea in two years, in book, video, and online format. He discusses his scholarly activities in the past 65 years. This one hour interview with the internet magazine, “Good …
Life and Legacy- Studying the Work of Stanley Kubrick
“This summer, Dr. Kate McQuiston was part of an international team of scholars that organized a workshop in the Netherlands on film director, Stanley Kubrick. With never-before-seen production materials still arriving at the Stanley Kubrick Archive in London, and a host of recent publications on Kubrick, the workshop fostered lively discussion about what we are still learning about the director …