Rodel Domingoʻs article “What non-ensemble music course most influenced your growth as a music teacher, and why?” was published in the October 2025 issue of Teaching Music, NAfME’s national music education journal. “John Donaldson, a member of the NAfME staff team, reached out to me about contributing a quote for the October issue of Teaching Music magazine, focusing on a …
Jun Yi Chow Recipient of the John Young Scholarship in the Arts
Jun Yi Chow, Music Composition PhD student, has been name a recipient of the John Young Scholarship in the Arts, the University of Hawaiiʻs most prestigious private scholarship. “Being a John Young Scholarship recipient is especially meaningful because it reflects the values that first drew me to UH—openness, intercultural dialogue, and deep artistic curiosity,” states Jun Yi Chow. “This support …
UH Department of Music Receives Significant Gift from the Estate of the Late Carmen S. Yamada
The UHM Department of Music is the recipient of a major gift in the form of a bequest of over $633,000 from the estate of the late Carmen S. Yamada of Silver Spring, Maryland, one of the largest gifts the department has received. The funds will be used to support the Department of Music as a whole, for purposes of …
Welcome Dr. LaVerne de la Peña, the first Trimillos Visiting Distinguished Professor of Ethnomusicology
For Spring 2026 we welcome Dr. LaVerne de la Peña. As the first Trimillos Visiting Distinguished Professor of Ethnomusicology, he will be teaching MUS 678D Advanced Problems in Ethnomusicology: Music & Colonialism, a graduate seminar investigating the entangled relationship between music and colonialism in the Philippines. Employing ethnomusicological theories and critical frameworks, his course will explore how music was shaped …
Dr. Thomas Yee Named Teacher of the Year by the Hawai’i Music Teacher Association
The Hawai’i Music Teacher Association (HMTA) has selected pianist and UH Professor, Dr. Thomas Yee, as Teacher of the Year for his “outstanding contributions to Hawai’i’s music and piano community as an educator and HMTA Vice President/President-Elect (2024-2026), and HMTA President (2026-2028)” (hmta.org). This award reflects Dr. Yee’s musicianship, leadership, and mentorship as a teacher here on O‘ahu. “It is …
“My Name” by Dr. Schumacker wins NCCO Call for Scores
UH Music professor, Dr. Alec Schumacker, was named a winner of the National Collegiate Choral Organization’s (NCCO) 2025 Call for Scores contest. His composition, “My Name,” includes a compilation of words spoken by his daughter on her fourth birthday. “My Name” will be performed at the NCCO national conference in California this November, and will be published by E.C. Schirmer …
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 …
Christopher Blasdel’s Book Reviewed by The Times Literary Supplement
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 …
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 …
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 …