Chad Uyehara
Chad Uyehara is the Orchestra Director at Moanalua Middle School. He received his Master’s of Music in Music Education and Viola Performance from Northwestern University where he studied viola with Roland Vamos and Charles Pickler. He earned his Bachelor’s of Music in Violin Performance, studying with LaVar Krantz, Bachelor’s of Arts in French, minor in History, and membership in Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Additional studies include the Brevard Music Center Summer Institute and Festival where he received the Repertoire Training Fellowship, the Conductor’s Workshop of America, Mimi Zweig’s Retreat for Violin and Viola Teachers, Suzuki Association of the Americas teacher training, and Paul Rolland String Pedagogy certification.
Mr. Uyehara has performed on violin and viola with the Las Vegas Philharmonic, Desert Springs Chamber Orchestra, and the Honolulu Symphony. He currently performs with the Maui Pops Orchestra, with local music theater companies, and as part of a violin-piano duo. He has taught orchestra for the Clark County School District in Nevada, the Las Vegas Youth Philharmonic, the Hawaii Department of Education at Kalani High School, Kaimuki Middle School, and Moanalua Elementary, Hanahauoli School, and St. Andrew’s Schools. Mr. Uyehara also served as interim conductor for the University of Hawaii at Manoa Symphony Orchestra during the 2014-2015 school year. In addition to directing orchestras for Moanalua Middle School, he directs orchestras for the Hawaii Youth Symphony (currently on leave for the 2023 – 2024 school year). He also maintains a private violin and viola studio.
Mr. Uyehara is currently President Elect of the Hawaii chapter of the American String Teachers Association (HASTA), and organizes the HASTA Junior Festival Orchestra. He also serves on the Teacher Leader Committee for the Association of Middle Level Education (AMLE). Other professional affiliations include the Paul Rolland String Pedagogy Society, Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA), Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), National Association for Music Education (NAfME), American Viola Society (AVS), and the Hawaii Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (HASCD). He has been honored with the 2018 Teacher of the Year award from the Hawaii Music Teachers Association.
“Mr. Uyehara always pushes me to be the best musician I can be. His support and obvious passion for music was the reason I started to practice more and without him, my ability to play my instrument would not be where it is today.”
Former student of Mr. Uyehara
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