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. …
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 Ethnomusicology Student, Lorelei Harrel, Presents in London on Taylor Swift
UH Mānoa Ethnomusicology graduate student, Lorelei Harrel, traveled to London for the Fifth International Women’s Work in Music Conference. She presented her paper, “No One Likes a Mad Woman: An Examination of the Online Hate of Taylor Swift,” an experience that allowed her to network with other scholars and represent the UH Department of Music in an international setting. The …
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 …
First-of-its-Kind Orvis Guest Artist Residency
The Music Department was thrilled to welcome baritone Andrew Garland and pianist José Meléndez for a first-of-its-kind Orvis Guest Artist Residency featuring seven UH Mānoa voice students. Amy Taba, Noah Alcantara, Sydney Branch, Audrey Walters, Nicole Ikeda Cossi, Dennis Dilwith III, and Kaelyn Howard worked intensely with Garland and Meléndez in lessons and coachings for two weeks in an unparalleled …
UHM Department of Music Awarded 2025 NAfME Collegiate Chapter of Excellence in Professional Development
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Department of Musicʻs National Association for Music Education Chapter was awarded the 2025 NAfME Collegiate Chapter of Excellence in Professional Development. This award recognizes successful chapter advocacy, music programming, professional development, recruitment strategy, and service projects. UHM Department of Musicʻs NAfME chapter, currently led by Dr. Chet-Yeng Loong, Advisor, Dennis Dilwith III, President, Rina Robin, …
Mieke Doezema’s Research Receives College Music Society Student Paper Award
The Northwest Chapter meeting for the College Music Society met at Western Washington University on March 21 and 22, during which UH Mānoa music graduate student Mieke Doezema (Composition MA ‘25) was awarded the College Music Society Student Paper Award for her musicological presentation on rhythmic movement in martial arts. Under the mentorship of musicologist Dr. Elina G. Hamilton, Mieke …
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 …
Marcus Moore debuts original ballet score – Beige: An Afro Ballet
Marcus Moore, a UH Mānoa Master’s of Music in Composition student, in collaboration with Jonathan Clarke Sypert, MFA student with the Department of Theatre & Dance, debuted an original ballet score – Beige: An Afro Ballet, which explores Black heritage and identity while drawing inspiration from Black diasporic music. “During my formative years, my family and friends would use music …