Patrick Hennessey brings a wide breadth of experience in performance, teaching, and ensemble direction to his position as the Band Director at Hawai‘i Pacific University. A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Dr. Hennessey holds degrees in trombone performance from California State University at Long Beach and music education from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He also earned his Ph.D. in musicology at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, writing his dissertation on Henry Berger (1844-1929), the longtime bandmaster of the Royal Hawaiian Band. Dr. Hennessey’s professional free-lance experience includes the touring Broadway shows A Chorus Line, Hello Dolly, Evita, Peter Pan, and Grease. He has also performed with celebrities such as Burt Bacharach, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Liza Minelli, Natalie Cole, and Johnny Mathis, and recorded with Nā Hōkū Hanohano winners Hula Joe and the Hutjumpers, The Mana‘o Company, and drummer Noel Okimoto. In addition, his experience extends to the orchestral field, performing with the Lakewood Philharmonia, the Long Beach Symphony, the Honolulu Symphony, the Honolulu Symphony Pops Orchestra under the direction of Matt Catingub, and the Hawai‘i Opera Theater Orchestra. Dr. Hennessey has served as the principal trombonist of the Royal Hawaiian Band since 1983. Prior to joining the faculty at Hawai‘i Pacific University, he directed the award-winning University of Hawai‘i Jazz Ensemble program from 1983 to 2007.