PhD Composition student, Jessica Ackerley, won first place at the International Composer Institute of Thailand this past December having spent a week collaborating with the award-winning New Music ensemble, Tacet(i) for the premiere of the piece entitled, “To Grasp the Movement of the Sun.” For the institute, Ackerley was also mentored by UC Berkeley professor, Ken Ueno, and University of …
First Competition of New Works for the The Kauila Oboe Announces Award Winners
The first-ever composition competition for the Kauila Oboe announces the winners: 1st Prize: Paul Cosme – Return of Kauila for oboe and piano 2nd Prize: Joseph Williams – He mai kuhewa for oboe and piano 3rd Prize: JunYi Chow – When the Wood Breathes for solo oboe Honorable Mention: Dalen Wuest – Chants, lullabies, and dances for oboe and piano …
Joe Williams, PhD student, receives the 2026 Vanguard Award for Classical Innovation and Community Impact
Joe Williams, a PhD student and Graduate Assistant at the Department of Music, has been named the recipient of the 2026 Vanguard Award for Classical Innovation and Community Impact. Presented by Javacya Arts Conservatory, this award celebrates Williams’ multifaceted career as a recording artist, administrator and pedagogue. As the final mentee of pioneering pianist Frances Walker Slocum (1924-2018), Williams understands …
Paul Gabriel Cosme, Finalist at the Andrea O. Veneracion International Choral Festival
Paul Gabriel Cosme was named a finalist for the 2025 Andrea O. Veneracion International Choral Festival Choral Composition Competition with his composition, “When I Sing to Myself, Who Listens?.” Cosme is a composer and scholar of Filipino music. He is a graduate of Macalester College and is now a PhD student in composition at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. …
Dr. Martin Regan’s Composition “The Book of Names” Performed by Apollo Chamber Players
Dr. Martin Regan’s composition The Book of Names for string quartet and narrator was premiered on October 5, 2024 by the Apollo Chamber Players at Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center (Houston, TX) featuring the legendary actor and activist George Takei. It was subsequently released on August 22, 2025 on the Azica Records recording BAN: Stories of Censorship. Regan’s work was on …
UH PhD Student, Jessica Ackerley, Finalist at Music Festival in Austria.
In September, Jessica Ackerley, PhD student in composition, attended the Bludenzer Tage Zeitgeäßer Musik, an international contemporary music festival in Austria. Ackerley was one of five composers selected for a workshop, and the sole scholarship awardee at the event, hosted by composer and performance artist, Elena Rykova, and the Blaurenz Duo. The Blaurenz Duo premiered her piece, 80 20.61′ N.
UH Alumna, Yoko Sato, Receives Honorable Mention for Choral Composition
Yoko Sato (Ph.D in Music – Composition, UH Mānoa, 2014) received honorable mention for her choral piece, “Stone, Rubble, Clay, Community: A Journey of Reconciliation,” at the 11th Japan International Choral Composition Competition this summer. Sato writes, “the words of the choral part were provided by Chris Rice who was the director of Center for Reconciliation at the Duke Divinity …
Composer Takuma Itoh Honored with New Music USA “2025 New Music Creator Award”
Dr. Takuma Itoh, Professor of Music Composition and Theory at the UH Mānoa Department of Music, was recently honored by the New Music USA 2025 New Music Creator Fund in recognition of his commitment to music creation in the local community. His ongoing series of works comprised of the Symphony of the Hawaiian Birds, Symphony of the Hawaiian Forests, and …
Governor Event Performance
The UH Mānoa Department of Music was represented at a high profile event this past May, when our very own Emi Obana and Marcus Moore performed at the “Honoring the Legacy of Governor John A. Burns” commemorative event, held at the John A. Burns School of Medicine. Marcus, a masters composition student, and Emi, a PhD composition student, performed several …
PhD composition student Paul Gabriel Cosme receives John Young Scholarship towards Philippine ethnography and concerto composition
Paul Gabriel Cosme, a PhD in Composition student at UH Mānoa Department of Music, is a recipient of the 2025 John Young Scholarship, which will support his research on the musical customs of three ethnolinguistic groups of the Philippines: Maguindanao, Maranao, and Sama, culminating in a kulintang concerto. The western genre concerto is traditionally composed for an instrumental soloist, such …