My main goal is to make music fun while teaching how to learn most efficiently. The skills involved with learning how to play music can translate into all different areas of life. Whether one chooses to learn casually or seriously, If the student works hard enough, they can receive the training and knowledge needed to reach conservatory level expectations and can be provided with guidance for a professional musical career.
About
Education
B.A., Manhattan School of music
A.D., Southern Methodist University Royal Conservatory of Music
Affiliations
Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, Mana Music Hawaii, Zero to Bach in Four Months
Biography
Joshua Nakazawa began his journey as a cellist at age 4 learning from the Suzuki method at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA. He continued his studies throughout his early education at the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra and the New England Conservatory pre-college programs.
After his classical training, gaining degrees at Manhattan School of Music and Southern Methodist University, and studying at the Royal Conservatory, Josh set on a musical path that continued to lead him around the globe. Josh has performed solo, chamber and orchestral music at the Banff Music Festival in Canada, the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, the Spoleto Music Festival in South Carolina, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. In addition to his current tenured full-time position with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, he also plays as a regular guest musician with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra.
Joshua founded the popular musical hub (www.manamusichawaii.com) and has collaborated with a plethora of talented local artists including Jack Johnson, Paula Fuga, Jake Shimabukuro, Ron Artis, Tavana, Mike Love, Taimane Gardner, Jeff Peterson, Allen Won, and Greg Sardinha. He produced and performed the classical music for the Na Hoku Hanohano 2020 music video of the year “Hawaiʻi ʻ78,” and his Mana Music Quartet album was recently nominated for several award categories for 2021.
He created the visually stunning virtual cello teaching program for complete beginners called “Zero to Bach in Four Months” which teaches how to play cello in a long-form 4 month program, implementing daily exercises that start with how to set up your instrument, and by the end of the series, teaching you how to play the Barenreiter edition of the Prelude of JS Bachʻs Suite No.1. Complete with drone shots of the locations, each daily video is filmed in a new location in Hawaiʻi so that over the course of the entire series, the student will get a full tour of the island of Oahu. The series can be found on https://cello.vhx.tv
In tandem with his musical career, throughout his life, Joshua has maintained an athletic lifestyle playing lacrosse, ice hockey, snowboarding, hiking, paddle boarding and freediving.
Joshua is a longtime supporter of community music outreach education and is always looking for fun and creative ways to tie culture, passion, people, and music together.
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This directory is service provided to teaching members of the Hawaii Music Teachers Association and to the Hawaii community. While HMTA will do its best to connect Hawaii piano students with local piano teachers, the responsibility for fulfillment and content of piano lessons, as well as safety, rests solely with the individual teachers. If you are a piano teacher in Hawaii and would like to be listed in this directory, please consider becoming a member.