The level of quality and leadership continues this fall in the UH Mānoa Rainbow Warriors Marching Band with its new director, Dr. Gabriel Arnold. Dr. Arnold holds a Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD in Music Education from Florida State University where his dissertation focused on music educators’ evolving self-awareness during initial years of teaching. A Marine Corps veteran, he honed his high level of musicianship in the Quantico (Virginia) and Okinawa Marine bands.
Dr. Arnold’s successes include developing impressive band-culture in adverse socioeconomic conditions. While in Georgia, Dr. Arnold turned around a mere thirty-student band program into more than two hundred strong in a few short years. He has become something of an expert on the subject of teaching within Title I schools and has penned articles in music education journals sharing his methods.
Besides leading UH Mānoa’s Rainbow Warriors Marching Band, Concert Band, and Jazz Band, Dr. Arnold researches music teacher training, and improving the quality of education in low socioeconomic areas. His secret to success? It all begins with developing strong student leadership, student “buy-in,” and imparting his unmistakable character and charisma on his students.