“I believe that students who participate in our programs learn more than just about music. They gain important life skills that they can use no matter what they decide to pursue in life. Music teaches them how to learn, what it takes to really master something, gives them an outlet to create and a place to belong.”
An alumnus of the Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony, Hannah Watanabe, has stayed connected with HYS in various capacities serving as a string coach, then as Concert Orchestra conductor for many years before joining HYS full time as Programs Manager in 2021. After aiding HYS’s efforts to recover from the pandemic and leading efforts to bring back programs and events in-person, she was promoted to Programs Director in 2024.
A graduate of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, she earned a Bachelor of Education degree in K-12 Music Education with an emphasis in Secondary Instrument Music. Prior to working at HYS, Hannah was a music educator for over 20 years. She served as the orchestra director at Moanalua Middle School for 16 of those years leading a very successful program with about 180 students participating in orchestra each year. She led the orchestra on several trips to participate in workshops and festivals in Boston, Orlando, and California. Prior to teaching at Moanalua Middle School, Hannah taught K-6 general music and choir at Hawaiʻi Baptist Academy, orchestra, piano, and music theory at Moanalua High School, and while still in college, she taught orchestra at Kalani High School part time.
Hannah still keeps active and connected to schools as an orchestra clinician for various camps, clinics and workshops. She is a member of the National Association for Music Educators (NAfME) and serves on the board for the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) – Hawaiʻi Chapter as their webmaster.
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