In April of this year, shakuhachi performer and Japanese music lecturer Christopher Blasdel’s book, Jiuta Sōkyoku Lyrics and Explanations: Songs of a Floating World, was reviewed by Brian Karentyk in The Times Literary Supplement. In his highly complimentary article, The Floating World: Classic anthologies of Japanese poetry in new translations, Karentyk notes that Blasdel’s book is “the first of its …
New UH Mānoa Music Department Faculty
The University of Hawai’i at Mānoa Department of Music is pleased to welcome two new faculty members, Dr. Thomas Kloss as an assistant professor of music and associate band director, and Dr. Tyler Ramos as an instructor of music. With more than 27 years teaching instrumental music in both secondary and higher education, Dr. Kloss brings a wealth of experience …
UH Mānoa Interim Professor, Dr. Dustin Ferguson, Helps to Fulfill One of Tongan King’s Final Wishes
Dr. Dustin Ferguson, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Department of Music Visiting Assistant Professor of Music, Interim Associate Director of Bands, traveled to the Kingdom of Tonga to help fulfill one of the Late King George Tupou V final wishes of establishing a woodwinds group and concert band in Tonga. Dr. Ferguson, in collaboration with Ohio State University and Tonga’s …
Ethnomusicology pioneer receives Korean presidential award
Reposted from UH News: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Department of Music Professor Emeritus Byong Won Lee was honored with a Republic of Korea Presidential Medal Award. Lee was selected for the award among seven nominees this year in the field of Korean music. The award recognizes excellence in research and scholarship and contribution to the Republic of Korea’s cultural organizations and the …
Gwen Nakamura featured on Hawaii News Now
Featured on ‘Upfront’ with Guy Hagi, a segment of Hawaii News Now, “local legend” Gwen Nakamura (’84) has been the assistant marching band director at UH Mānoa for over 30 years. Nakamura’s distinguishing feature at every basketball, volleyball, and football game is her giant balloon hat. She explained in the video/podcast: “one of our band students was from Maui– her …
UH’s Symphony Orchestra director named to Pacific Business News’ 40 under 40
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 …
UH Mānoa Music Department welcomes three new faculty
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 …
Music Faculty & Staff Recognized at 2024 UH-Mānoa Awards Ceremony
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 …
Blasdel publishes three works on shakuhachi
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 …
Loong presents at AOSA as first Asian featured speaker
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 …