A pioneer for cultural music and dance studies in Hawaii dies at age 101
HNN Staff
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A champion of music and dance in Hawaii has died.
UH Mānoa Professor Emerita Barbara Barnard Smith died Saturday evening at the age of 101.
She’s credited with establishing the school’s ethnomusicology program, touching the lives of many students over the years.
Smith began her career at UH in 1949 teaching piano and music theory. She held her master’s degree in music literature from the Eastman School of Music.
Advancing through her studies, she realized course material was limited to Euro-American culture, and decided it needed to be expanded. With the university, she introduced classes in hula and Hawaiian chant, Korean dance, Chinese butterfly harp and Japanese gagaku.