HYS Announces Its Next Music Director!
On behalf of the Board of Directors, we are pleased to announce the selection of
Dr. John Devlin as HYS Music Director and Artistic Director of the Pacific Music Institute. Dr. Devlin succeeds Mr. Henry Miyamura, who served as HYS Music Director for over 30 years.
Currently, Dr. Devlin serves as the cover conductor for the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC, as well as Assistant Conductor of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. He is also the Founder, Artistic Director and Conductor of Gourmet Symphony, an innovative concert series that pairs locally-sourced cuisine with classical music. He has also served as Music Director of two youth orchestra organizations, the Youth Orchestras of Prince William and the McLean Youth Orchestra, both in Virginia.
In addition to Dr. Devlin’s outstanding professional accomplishments, the Board was impressed with his personal warmth and dynamic passion for helping students of all skill levels succeed through music, and learn to perform at the highest level of excellence. We are confident that Dr. Devlin will continue and expand upon the superb music education and exceptional level of performance that Mr. Miyamura leaves as his legacy.
Dr. Devlin was selected from a very strong field of over 80 candidates from across the nation and Hawaii. Each candidate submitted videos of concert and rehearsal conducting sessions, as well as a resume of professional experience and education. The Board Search Committee evaluated the candidates with the assistance of an Artistic Advisory Committee, comprised of professional musicians in Hawaii, who assessed the conducting videos and professional experience of the top 15 candidates, and provided valuable input and guidance. Eight semi-finalist candidates were interviewed by the Search Committee via video. Four finalists were interviewed in Hawaii by numerous constituent groups, and provided with the opportunity to guest conduct.
The search was comprehensive and thorough, and the Board thanks everyone – HYS alumni, students, parents, professional musicians, and school music directors and teachers – who provided valuable feedback and input throughout the process. This was truly a community effort and clearly led to an outstanding selection.
For those who wish to know more about Dr. Devlin’s educational background, we have briefly summarized his education below:
University of Maryland School of Music
Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting, 2015
Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting, 2011
Emory University
Bachelor of Arts in Music and Latin, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 2008
We warmly welcome Dr. Devlin and his wife, Camille, to Hawaii and to our HYS ohana. We are planning opportunities for you to meet them in the near future, and will have more information on this soon.
We celebrate the successful conclusion of our search, and look forward to a wonderful future for HYS.
Aloha,
Richard K. Ing
President, Board of Directors
Sharon R. Himeno,
Chair, Search Committee
Randy Wong,
Executive Director
Enclosures: