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Barbara Smith (Image credit: Hawaii Arts Alliance)
Smith taught himself the musical traditions of Hawaii, the Pacific, and Asia.
Smith’s photo of teachers in 1960. (Source: Miyamoto Photography Collection.)
Kalihi Kai Elementary School Ukulele Club with Smith. (Image credit: Hawaii Arts Alliance)
The Barbara Barnard Smith Foundation has given a record $3.5 million to the University of Hawaii at Manoa to fund the first-ever endowed chair in the Department of Music. Newly established Barbara Barnard Smith Professorial Chair supports the university’s desire and commitment to revitalize its ethnomusicology program and honors the late, esteemed University of Hawaii at Manoa, who passed away in 2021 Professor’s legacy.
“This is the first major grant from the Barbara Barnard Smith Foundation, and the Board of Trustees is delighted that it will recognize Professor Smith’s legacy at the University of Hawaii,” said Foundation President Gregory Smith. Supports the University’s commitment to strengthening ethnomusicology programs.” Also the beloved professor’s nephew.
The Ethnomusicology program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa provides students with an education in world music, with a special focus on Asia and the Pacific. The grant provides two additional faculty positions in addition to the newly established Barbara Barnard Smith Professorial Chair and will support a range of improvements to the ethnomusicology program, including student support .
“This grant from the Barbara Barnard Smith Foundation is a truly transformative grant,” said University of Hawai’i at Manoa Provost Michael Bruno. “It will build on Professor Smith’s amazing legacy and the internationally recognized ethnomusicology program she pioneered, and ensure the future importance of the University of Hawai’i at Manoa in the field. I am extremely grateful for this grant and its The impact will be profound on students, faculty, performance and scholarship.”
impactful legacy
Smith is a pioneer in the field of ethnomusicology, which focuses on the study of musical traditions in social and cultural contexts around the world. Professor Smith arrived at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1949 as a young faculty member and found herself immersed in a culture she had not previously known. Although she was hired to teach piano and music theory, she became interested in the diversity of student backgrounds and soon began to question why only Western music was taught. She began a path of self-study of the many musical traditions of Hawaii, the Pacific, and Asia that ultimately led to the establishment and development of one of the earliest ethnomusicology programs in the United States, which is now internationally recognized.
Professor Smith’s work had an impact on her students, some of whose earliest students included legendary Hawaiian musicians Herb Ohta and Eddie Kamae. Even after officially retiring in 1982, she remained deeply involved in the music department and continued to mentor students for three decades, well into her 90s. Graduates of the programs Smith founded have gone on to hold influential positions in Hawaii, the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and the Pacific.
“As a former student of Professor Smith, and a longtime admirer of her vision and devotion to the discipline as she worked to shape it here at UH Mānoa,” said R. Anderson Sutton, an ethnomusicology professor at UH Mānoa and 1975 graduate of the Program. “I am delighted and honored to be directly involved in the implementation of this grant, bringing new faculty and new students into this special program. Like many of my fellow graduates, I can say that we are all deeply grateful to the Foundation Providing the means for Professor Smith’s legacy to continue to grow and flourish.”
The University of Hawaii at Manoa is committed to expanding the renowned program initiated by Smith to educate world music scholars and offer lecture and performance courses focused on Asian, Pacific and American music.
“This extraordinary grant will ensure that the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa Ethnomusicology Program continues to maintain its rightful place among the top programs in the United States and abroad, contributing to the advancement and understanding of musical cultures around the world and the rich diversity of Hawaii’s music culture,” said Donald Womack, chair of the music department. “I can think of no more appropriate way to commemorate Professor Smith’s truly visionary work and her lifetime of contributions to the university, the nation and beyond.”
The Department of Music is located in the College of Arts, Languages and Literatures at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
About the Department of Music at the University of Hawaii at Manoa
The Department of Music at the University of Hawaii at Manoa offers the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Education, Master of Arts, Master of Music, and Ph.D. The Bachelor of Music’s teaching provides general music students with a broad liberal background, prepares future elementary and secondary teachers, and trains students for careers in performance, composition, teaching, research, and a variety of other musical endeavors.
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