University of Hawaii at Manoa

 Grant K. Okamura
Grant K. Okamura is Director of Bands at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, where his Symphonic Wind Ensemble brought high praise for their performances at the 1994 American Bandmasters Association and the 1996 College Band Directors Nation Association/Northwestern Convention. Mr. Okamura has conducted the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra in their community and educational concert series and formed and conducted the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra's Symphonic Wind Ensemble, an ensemble comprised of musicians of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and students at the University of Hawai'i. He also served as the Musical Director of the Hawai'i Youth Symphony from 1979 to 1984.

Mr. Okamura began his career at nationally acclaimed McKinley High School in Honolulu, where his bands were consistently commended for their superior musicianship. Among their many honors, the McKinley High School Symphonic Wind Ensemble was the first western band to perform in China since the Communist Revolution in 1949.

Mr. Okamura serves as guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator throughout the United States and Canada. He is a past President of the Oahu Band Directors Association and the Hawai'i Music Educators Association, and an active member of the American Bandmasters Association, College Band Directors National Association, and the Hawaii Band Directors Association.


Thomas R. Bingham is Professor of Music, Associate Director of Bands, and Director of the Marching Band at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he also conducts the Symphonic Band and teaches woodwind methods and Wind Band Literature, and serves as Associate Chair of the Music Department.

Mr. Bingham returned to Hawaii after 9 years as Director of Instrumental Music at Lompoc High School in California, where he conducted the Marching Band, Symphonic Winds, Concert Band, Jazz Band, Orchestra, String Orchestra and Theater Orchestra, and was founder and director of the Lompoc Unified School District Orchestra. Prior to his appointment in California, Mr. Bingham served as Assistant Band Director at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, conducting the Symphonic Band, Marching Band, and Pep Bands and the Hula Bowl Halftime Show.

Mr. Bingham has appeared as guest conductor, adjudicator, and clinician throughout the United States and has conducted musicals for the University of Hawaii and the Castle Theater Guild. He received the Bachelor of Arts in music education from California State University, Fresno, and the Master of Arts in music education from the University of Hawaii. He is state chair for the National Band Association and has served in several capacities on the board of the Hawai'i Music Educators Association.


 

The 2002-2003 academic year begins Karen Kennedy's third year as the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she directs the Concert Choir, Chamber Singers, and University Chorus, as well as teaches Secondary Choral Methods. This year also begins her new appointment as the Director for the Honolulu Symphony Chorus.

Prior to coming to Hawaii, Dr. Kennedy completed her Doctor of Musical Arts Degree at Arizona State University. There she served as the Assistant Conductor for the ASU Choral Union, the resident chorus of the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, and prepared the chorus for performance of many choral masterworks including Mahler's 2nd Symphony, Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Brahm's Requiem, Handel's Messiah, and Orff's Carmina Burana. She also served as the director of the ASU Women's Choir and as the director of the Contemporary Choral Ensemble.

Dr. Kennedy recently returned from Stockholm, Sweden, where she was the Festival Conductor for performances in conjunction with the city's 750th anniversary celebration. She also serves as a clinician for the nationally-acclaimed workshop "Creating Artistry," now offered in conjunction with the Pacific Rim Children's Choir Festival, and will continue to serve as an adjudicator and clinician for festivas in Hawaii and througout the United States. She is the President-Elect for the Hawaii chapter of the American Choral Director's Association, her term as president beginnning in the Fall of 2003.