Dr. Alex Hayashi is an oboist, currently teaching at the University of Hawaii as the Lecturer of Oboe and playing with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal Oboe. He has taught at and conducted masterclasses throughout the country, including Western Michigan University as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Oboe, the University of Michigan as Visiting Professor, University of Arizona, University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, University of Southern Mississippi, and Bowling Green State University. During the summers, Dr. Hayashi also conducts lessons and masterclasses in Japan, and is oboe faculty for the Hawaii Youth Symphony Pacific Music Institute.
As a performer, Dr. Hayashi is well-versed in large ensembles, chamber music, and solo settings on both oboe and English horn. While being based in Honolulu with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, has also been featured as guest soloist with ensembles including the West Point Band, the Rochester Symphony Orchestra (Rochester, MI) and the WMU Symphony Orchestra. Performing experiences also include Chamber Music Hawaii, Arizona MusicFest, the Detroit 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, by Equilibrium 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 is working to combine music with fitness and 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. He holds degrees from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (BM, 2011) and the University of Michigan (MM, 2013; DMA, 2016).
Dr. Hayashi is a Marigaux artist and plays on a 2001A model.