This Fall, the Music Department at UH Mānoa is fortunate to introduce three new faculty members: Dr. Dustin Ferguson, Dr. Alec Schumacker, and Dr. Yuan-Yu Kuan.
Dr. Dustin Ferguson serves as Visiting Assistant Professor of Music and Interim Associate Director of Bands. In addition to teaching music education courses, he conducts the Concert Band, Symphony Band, and is director of the renowned Rainbow Warrior Marching Band. On being welcomed to the faculty in the UH Band program’s centennial year, he shares, “I am delighted to be a part of UH’s storied legacy. It’s an honor to contribute to a program with such a rich history of musical excellence.” In addition to his primary role in the perpetuation of the bands, he said, “I am excited to collaborate with the wonderful faculty and students here to continue our pursuit for musical excellence while focusing on relationships.”
Dr. Alec Schumacker, Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choirs, is also enthusiastic about new connections: “I’m delighted to join the music faculty at UH Mānoa. It’s a thrill to be on a team with such wonderful, passionate, and thoughtful colleagues!” His direct participation in new-school-year welcome events allowed Dr. Schumacker’s choirs, University Concert Choir and Chamber Singers, to garner many new singers from across campus. “Working with the students this first week has been a fantastic experience,” he expressed. “I can’t wait for all the great music we’ll make together.”
Dr. Kuan Yuan-Yu, Assistant Professor of Music in Ethnomusicology says, “I’m excited to return to Hawai’i and join the ethnomusicology faculty, building on the legacy of its founder, visionary leader Barbara B. Smith. I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues, including R. Anderson Sutton, as we continue to expand the program’s focus on Indigenous musics and narratives.” Despite the geographical isolation of our island chain in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Hawai’i is a cultural epicenter for the intersection of many Asian and Pacific Island cultures. Dr. Kuan continues, “My research on inter-island musical exchanges and alliances among Indigenous peoples across the Asia-Pacific, along with my involvement in Hawaiian music, will contribute to a program that is grounded locally and reaches across oceans.”