Many of our students also participate in Hawai‘i Opera Theatre's Mae Zenke Orvis Opera Studio, a training program for young artists. She established the master‘s degree program in ethnomusicology in 1960. Recognizing the value and potential of ethnomusicology at the University of Hawaii, she also designed lecture courses and education workshops. University faculty and students enjoy a rich tradition of professional sacred and secular performance opportunities and appear regularly with organizations like Hawai‘i Opera Theatre, Diamond Head Theatre, and Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra. Beginning with Hawaiian chant and koto, she introduced ethnic music performance classes into the Music Department curriculum. Past artists have included Kiri Te Kanawa, Frederica von Stade, Thomas Hampson, Sumi Jo, Renée Fleming, Dawn Upshaw, Marilyn Horne and Deborah Voight, Samuel Ramey, Sutton Foster, and Michael Rafter.Īdjacent to downtown Honolulu and Waikīkī, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa is at the center of a vibrant and cosmopolitan performance scene. Voice students enjoy a rich master class and recital series of visiting artists in classical music and musical theater. Faculty members maintain active careers on the stage in opera, musical theater, recital, and concert performances. Voice students work one-on-one with members of our voice faculty, who are all voice professionals dedicated to achieving the highest academic, artistic and professional standards for themselves and for their students. The department also offers extensive ethnomusicology offerings including Hawaiian Chorus and Hawaiian Hula and Chant, which provide our students with world-class experiences beyond the Western tradition, unique to our Pacific Rim location. Voice students enjoy a variety of standard and specialized courses in vocal literature, pedagogy, and performance, including song literature, vocal pedagogy, piano-vocal collaboration, diction, traditional choral ensembles, opera workshop, and musical theater. The voice area at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa embraces a twenty-first century worldview built on a traditional foundation, offering several degrees with a voice focus: the Bachelor of Arts degree with an emphasis in musical theater, Hawaiian music or with a general emphasis in voice the Bachelor of Music degree in voice performance the Bachelor of Education degree (Music Education) the Master of Music degree and the Performance Certificate.

University of hawaii music dept