Michael Foumai (composer)

Michael Thomas Foumai
OccupationComposer
OrganizationComposer-in-residence for the Hawaii Symphony
Known forRaise Hawaiki
Websitewww.michaelfoumai.com

Michael Thomas Foumai (born 1987, Honolulu, Hawai'i) is an American composer of classical music. He is the first Composer-in-Residence at the Hawai'i Symphony Orchestra as well as its Director of Artistic Engagement.[1] Foumai serves on the faculty of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in the Theory & Composition area.[2] He cites composer John Williams as inspiration[3] as well as film, anime, poetry, classical music and Hawaiʻi.[4]

Education

Foumai was raised on Oʻahu, in Makiki. Foumai discovered his love for music, playing the violin at Kawānanakoa Middle School.[5] Foumai attended Roosevelt High School, where he performed his first orchestra piece, graduating in 2005.[6] Foumai graduated from University of Hawaiʻi with a Bachelor of Music in 2009.[7] He earned his Masters of Music (2011) and Doctorate of Music (2014) in composition from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.[8]

Career

In the early part of Foumai's career, he garnered fellowships, grants and accolades for his compositions. In 2014, the Alabama Orchestra Association named Foumai its 2014 winner of their annual composition contest, with his original work, Kinder-Und Hausmärchen: A Grimm Overture, which premiered at the All-State Orchestra Festival in February of that year.[9]

Foumai was awarded the Fromm Fellowship Commission at Harvard University in 2014. For this project, he composed the Manookian Murals, which premiered in Philadelphia in 2016, supported by the Dolce Suono Ensemble.[10][11]

In 2015, the Portland Symphony Orchestra commissioned Foumai's Becoming Beethoven.[12][13] Centering Beethoven's hearing loss, the work threaded motives from the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 9th symphonies as Beethoven triumphed to created classic works. Also that year, Foumai composed Full Metal, its title derived from the manga series Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa. This was commissioned by with Conductor Jacob Harrison and the Iowa State University Orchestra.[14] The American Composers Orchestra premiered Foumai's The Spider Thread, based on the short story The Spider's Thread by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa in 2015 as well.[15]

In 2018, the Portland Symphony Orchestra commissioned Foumai The Telling Rooms, which premiered in 2019 with Eckart Preu as conductor.[16] The Telling Rooms was based on poems by three poes—Aubrey Duplissie, Husna Quinn and Eliza Rudalevige—called "The Happiest Color", "Dressed in Red" and "Ink Wash".

In 2019, Foumai's Raise Hawaiki, inspired by story of the Polynesian voyaging greats Eddie Aikau, Nainoa Thompson, Mau Piailug, Sam Kaʻai and Sam Low[17][18] in the Hōkūleʻa, was performed by the Hawai'i Symphony Orchestra with the Oʻahu Choral society, choirs from University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Kapiʻolani Community College, University of Hawai'i at West Oʻahu, the Hawaiʻi Youth Opera Chorus and community choir. Later that year, a portion of it, Raise Hawaiki: Kealaikahiki (The Way to Tahiti), was conducted by John Devlin.[4]

In 2021, seven of Foumai's works were showcased in the "Sheraton Starlight Series" at the Waikīkī Shell. The works featured were Becoming Beethoven, Raise Hawaiki: Kealaikahiki (The Way to Tahiti), Fullmetal, Rat Race! (inspired by Tom and Jerry) and the premiere of Overture on Themes from the Songbook of Her Majesty Queen Liliʻuokalani which was conducted by Sarah Hicks.[19]

In 2022, as part of its Rock My Soul festival, the Los Angeles Philharmonic commissioned Foumai to arrange the music of Florence Price, titled A Piece for Solo Piano and Orchestra after Florence Price's Fantasie nègre No. 1. It premiered at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and was curated by soprano Julia Bullock and conducted by Lidiya Yankovskaya.[20]

In 2022, Foumai's composed Defending Kalo for violin and harp, commissioned by the Composing Earth project[21] and the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music. It premiered at the Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, Cambridge, Boston, MA.[22][23] In Breath Water Spirit, composed for cello and piano, Foumai continued to explore the tradition of the stories of Hawai'i. This piece was commissioned by Lili and Wilson Ervin.[24]

In 2023, "Living Pono", a harp concerto, premiered at the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra and was conducted by José-Luis Novo.[25][26]

Awards and fellowships

References

  1. ↑ "Hawaii Symphony Orchestra appoints new director of artistic engagement and composer in residence". Pacific Business News. November 2, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Michael Thomas Foumai". The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Department of Music. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  3. 1 2 Metohu, Erjon (January 13, 2016). "Q&A with Michael-Thomas Foumai, composer". Bowdoin Music Festival. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  4. 1 2 Arvman, Zenaida Serrano (May 18, 2021). "UH West Oʻahu's Foumai behind 'unprecedented' performances with Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra". Ka Puna O Kaloi. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Hoʻohaʻaheo Newsletter, Oct. 29". Hawai'i State Department of Education. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Alumni Spotlight: Michael-Thomas Foumai (Roosevelt High) – Hawaiʻi State Department of Education". hawaiipublicschools.org. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Foumai wins national award for music composition". UH Alumni. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Alumni Updates - Michigan Muse Winter 2023". University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  9. ↑ "2014 Composition Winner | Alabama Orchestra Association". Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Michael-Thomas Foumai | Fromm Music Foundation". frommfoundation.fas.harvard.edu. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Coming up in Philly music: Tangos and trios with Dolce Suono". Broad Street Review. December 6, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  12. ↑ "PSO premieres Beethoven-inspired composition at "Eroica" concerts opening Feb. 15". Lewiston Sun Journal. January 26, 2015. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  13. ↑ Public, Maine (February 17, 2015). "Channeling Beethoven: Composer Unveils New Work Inspired by the Master". Maine Public. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  14. ↑ Fullmetal for Orchestra (2015), retrieved January 18, 2026
  15. ↑ Reising, Sam (November 17, 2015). "American Composers Orchestra Performs 21st Firsts". I CARE IF YOU LISTEN. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Classical review: Incoming conductor proves a good fit for PSO". The Portland Press Herald. January 28, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Meet the composer behind Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra's performance..." Aloha State Daily. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Raise Hawaiki, Hokulea symphony by award-winning University of Hawaii composer premieres | University of Hawaiʻi System News". www.hawaii.edu. March 31, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Music for and by The Queen Liliʻuokalani". Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra. July 2, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Price and Bonds with Sarah Cahill". LA Phil. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Composing Earth". Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  22. ↑ Foumai, Michael-Thomas (July 5, 2023). "GLFCAM - Finding Purpose". New Music USA. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  23. ↑ Edwards, David Noel (March 3, 2023). "Preview: TLI Chamber Concert—Foumai, Beethoven, and Still". The Berkshire Edge. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Bardin-Niskala Duo - Our Composers". Bardin-Niskala Duo. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  25. ↑ Love, Diana (May 2, 2023). "Masterworks VI Brings New Music to ASO Audiences". Annapolis Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  26. ↑ "ASO Performs Final Concert of Season with Grammy Winning Violinist James Ehnes". Eye On Annapolis. May 1, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  27. ↑ "2010 BMI Student Composer Awards Announced". NewMusicBox. New Music USA. May 17, 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  28. ↑ "59th Annual BMI Student Composer Award Winners Announced". BMI Foundation. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  29. ↑ "BMI Foundation Presents Student Composer Awards". BMI.com. May 16, 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  30. 1 2 "Announcing Composition Winners, runners-up: orchestra—2013". Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  31. ↑ "Composition Winners 2014". www.theamericanprize.org. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  32. ↑ "61st BMI Student Composer Award Winners Announced". BMI Foundation. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  33. ↑ Oteri, Frank J. (May 21, 2013). "2013 BMI Student Composer Awards Announced". New Music USA. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  34. ↑ Advanced Solutions International, Inc. "2014 Recipients". www.mtna.org. Archived from the original on August 14, 2025. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  35. ↑ Ip, Stephanie (March 12, 2014). "In touch with Michael Thomas Foumai". Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  36. ↑ "Alumni". Pacific Century Fellows. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
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