View Post

UH’s Symphony Orchestra director named to Pacific Business News’ 40 under 40

In Faculty News, Orchestra by Nicole Ikeda Cossi

Reposted from University of Hawaii News: Joseph Stepec, an associate professor of music at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, has been named to the 2024 40 under 40 list by Pacific Business News. Stepec serves as the music director of the UH Mānoa Symphony Orchestra, director of the Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony’s Symphony Program and artistic director of the Pacific Music Institute. He was recognized alongside the other …

View Post

UH Mānoa Music Department welcomes three new faculty

In Bands, Choirs, Department News, Ethnomusicology, Faculty News by Nicole Ikeda Cossi

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 …

View Post

Music Faculty & Staff Recognized at 2024 UH-Mānoa Awards Ceremony

In Composition, Department News, Faculty News, Musicology by General Entries

The Music Department was well represented at the annual UH-Mānoa Awards Ceremony this year, with two faculty and one staff member being recognized for their achievements. Donald Reid Womack, Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Research The Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Research is awarded by the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents in recognition of scholarly contributions that expand the boundaries of …

View Post

Blasdel publishes three works on shakuhachi

In Ethnomusicology, Faculty News by Paul Cosme

Christopher Yohmei Blasdel, shakuhachi player and lecturer at UH Mānoa, published three works on the shakuhachi this month. The first is The Shakuhachi: A Learning Manual, which was originally published in 1988, and the first comprehensive English-language shakuhachi instruction book published by a major publishing house; Ongaku no Tomo-sha, Japan’s leading music press. Blasdel also published Jiuta Sōkyoku Lyrics and …

View Post

Loong presents at AOSA as first Asian featured speaker

In Faculty News, Music Education by Paul Cosme

Dr. Chet-Yeng Loong, professor and chair of the music education program at UH-Mānoa, was invited as the first Asian featured presenter at the 2023 American Orff-Schulwerk Association Professional Development Conference (AOSA) in Albuquerque, NM, Nov 1-4, 2023. Loong presented a series of sessions that highlighted approaching music education through multiculturalist lens based on her extensive work on the music of …

View Post

Dr. Ricardo Trimillos named Living Treasure of Hawaiʻi

In Alumni Accolades, Ethnomusicology, Faculty News by General Entries

Adapted from UH News Ricardo Trimillos, renowned professor who has made lasting contributions to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and the greater community, was celebrated as Living Treasure of Hawaiʻi on February 10. The 49th annual ceremony paid tribute to individuals who have significantly enriched the cultural tapestry of the islands. Trimillos, a professor emeritus of ethnomusicology was recognized …

View Post

Dr. Ricardo Trimillos is honored by International Council for Traditional Music and Dance

In Ethnomusicology, Faculty News by Thomas Osborne

From UH News The International Council for Traditional Music and Dance has awarded a lifetime membership to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Ricardo Trimillos for his years of advocacy, service and academic contributions. Trimillos is a professor emeritus in ethnomusicology and Asian studies at UH Mānoa. His career has been dedicated to helping build the ethnomusicology program in tandem with his former professor and mentor, Barbara …

View Post

UH faculty member to present recital of Italian art song

In Faculty News, Voice by General Entries

On February 24, 2023, Dr. Maya Sypert (University of Hawai’i at Mānoa) and her longtime performance partner, pianist José Meléndez (Academy of Vocal Arts, Philadelphia) will present a recital of all Italian art song in February. The recital is co-presented by UHM and the Friends of Italy Society of Hawaii, with additional support from the Art Song Preservation Society of …

View Post

Undergraduate Music Students intern with the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra

In Department News, Faculty News, Music Education by General Entries

In Summer 2022, Sofia Furtado and Michael Han, undergraduate music students from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa performed archival research and analysis of the history of programming at the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra. The project, funded by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, was done under the supervision of professor Mari Yoshihara of the American Studies department, and will serve as …

View Post

Saxophone and Horn duo complete semester-long residency in new music with UH composition students

In Composition, Department News, Faculty News, Music Education by General Entries

Dr. Jennifer Blackwell (Music Education) and Performer-Composer Brian Kavolius-Matherne (Brian KM) have completed a semester-long residency working with six of UH’s graduate composition students on original compositions for Alto Saxophone and Horn. The residency, which took place in Fall 2021, consisted of reading sessions, individual meetings with composers, and informational sessions on writing for the instruments, culminating in the recording …