About Our Soloist

Dr. Alex Hayashi is an oboist and personal trainer, currently teaching at the University of Hawaii as the Lecturer of Oboe. Prior to his move home, Dr. Hayashi taught at Western MichiganUniversity as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Oboe. He has conducted masterclasses at universities and music schools throughout the country, including the University of Michigan as Visiting Professor, the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, theUniversity of Southern Mississippi, and Bowling Green State University. During the summers, Dr. Hayashi also conducts lessons and masterclasses in Japan, regularly working with students in the Kyushu region (Southwest Japan). He has served as Oboe Faculty for the Hawaii Youth Symphony Pacific Music Institute and the Clear Creek Music Festival.

As a performer, Dr. Hayashi is well-versed in large ensembles, chamber music, and solo venues on both oboe and English horn. Most recently, he has been featured as guest soloist with theRochester Symphony Orchestra (Rochester, MI) and the WMU Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with ensembles around the country including the Michigan Opera Theatre and the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra both as acting principal, the Las Vegas Philharmonic, the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, and the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Hayashi has also performed internationally at festivals and competitions in Japan, Austria, Switzerland, and the British Isles. In 2017, Dr. Hayashi was invited to the 4th Barbirolli International Oboe Festival and Competition, where he received the Jennifer Elstub Memorial Prize for his rendition of the York Bowen Oboe Sonata. He is a regular member of the TAD Wind Symphony - a wind band based in Tokyo, Japan and led by Takayoshi "TAD"Suzuki.

In 2017, Dr. Hayashi recorded an album of Japanese composed oboe and piano works with University of Michigan faculty member, Dr. Matthew Thompson. Their CD, JAPONICA, is now available, byEquilibrium Records. Dr. Hayashi and Dr. Thompson performed a selection of JAPONICA at the 2018 International Double Reed Society Conference held in Granada, Spain.

Dr. Hayashi is also a personal trainer at Anytime Fitness in Kailua, Hawaii, with a certification in personal training from the National Academy of Sports Medicine. He plans on combining music with fitness, to specialize working with musicians to promote healthy lifestyles and injury prevention in the form of personal training.

Dr. Hayashi's primary teachers include Dr. Nancy Ambrose King, Dr. Stephen Caplan, and Susan Ochi-Onishi. In addition, he has studied with and participated in masterclasses with Alex Klein, Nathan Hughes, Rebecca Henderson, and Eugene Izotov, among others. Dr. Hayashi holds degrees in oboe performance from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (BM 2011), and the University of Michigan (MM 2013, DMA 2016).