Staff

John Riggle is a native of California, first arrived at Kamehameha Schools in 1977. He had taught at the Kapalama Campus High School band program for past 33 years where the Kamehameha Schools Warrior Band and Color Guard has developed into one of most renown and successful marching band in the U.S. The band has traveled extensively and performed a exclusive events throughout the US, Europe and Asia - highlights included the Pasadena Tournament of Rose Parade, Presidential Inaugural Parade, London New Years Parade, Orange Bowl Parade, and the Sugar Bowl Halftime show. The group also appeared in University of Hawaii, San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens football games. John Riggle initially retired from Kamehameha Schools in 2009. Afterwards he spent two year at Holy Family School as the band director for the middle school. He returned to Kamehameha Schools as temporary band director 2012-2013 and led the band to their second appearance in the US Presidential Inaugural Parade. Mr Riggle recently retired from Hawaii Department of Education after completing his second year as band director at Kailua High School.

He also established several other music and performing organizations in Hawaii, including: Hawaii Music Ambassadors, Na Koa Alii - Hawaii All State Marching Band, Ku Kila Kila - Kauai All Island Marching Band, Polynesian Dance Ensemble of Hawaii and the Kamehameha All Warrior Marching Band. He enjoys developing programs that give opportunity to students to perform and travel from the various schools of Hawaii.

Mr. Riggle also had a special opportunity to lead the 70th Anniversary Commemoration Pearl Harbor Mass Band in 2011.

In 2019, Mr Riggle was honored as co-Grand Marshal with Aaron Mahi for the 103rd Annual King Kamehameha Day Floral Parade. He also received recognition from Chalkboard Champions for his work with Na Koa Alii - Hawaii All State Marching Band.

Mr. Riggle began his music career in a small band as a drummer. Later he performed in jazz ensembles and combo groups and in pit orchestras for musicals. He was initially band director at Sunnyvale High School between 1969 -1977 where the band flourished into one of the top marching bands in Northern California. He has also been an adjudicator, clinician and advisor to other bands and performing groups.

Mr. Riggle attended San Jose State University where he received both his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts Degrees in Music Education. He currently lives in Kaneohe, Hawaii with his wife, Lani. He has five children, seven grand children and five great-grand children.

Mr. Riggle was the founding director of the Na Koa Ali'i - Hawai'i All State Marching Band. He served in both managing and performance director capacities and has been involved in every tour since 2003.

Email: jrlani@hawaii.rr.com

Click here for information on a scholarship in the name of John Riggle is available to those senior band students from Hawaii.

Matt Urabe is currently the Director of Bands at Kamehameha Schools Kapalama Campus at Honolulu, Hawaii. Previously was the Assistant Director from 2010 until 2015. He is also a proud alumnus of Kamehameha Schools class of 1999. For an unprecedented fifth time in its prestigious history, Matt lead the marching band which appeared in the 131th Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade on January 1, 2020.

Matt attended Oregon State University where he attained his Bachelor of Science degree in Communication and Music. His duties for the Oregon State University Marching Band included public relations, marketing, administrative duties, game day management and recruitment. Matt also arranged music for the marching band and pep bands.

Matt was selected to be the Lead Performance Director and Oahu Island Director for the 2019 Na Koa Ali'i - Hawai'i All State Marching Band which appeared in the 130th Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade. He had also served in same capacity on 2016 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Tour.

Rickey H. Badua is the Director of Bands and Instrumental Music at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA, where he conducts the Wind Ensemble. He teaches beginning and instrumental conducting and oversees all aspects of the instrumental music program.

Prior to his appointment at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Dr. Badua received his Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting from the University of Georgia where he studied with Dr. John P. Lynch. His dissertation titled “The Maverick: An Analytical Study of Carter Pann’s Symphony for Winds: My Brother’s Brain (2014)” investigates the wind-band music of Pulitzer-finalist and Grammy-nominated composer Carter Pann through an extensive study of his most prodigious work for large ensemble. Dr. Badua was also the recipient of the Director’s Excellence and Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant award.

Dr. Badua’s scholarship includes wind band research in Saint Petersburg, Russia for which he received a presidential grant from the University of Georgia to study the unpublished manuscripts of 19th-century Italian composer, Gioachino Rossini at the Saint Petersburg Museum of Theatrical and Musical Art. His most current research efforts have been studying the wind-band developments in Australia and Asia.

Dr. Badua is active as a presenter and guest conductor throughout the U.S. and abroad, with appearances at the Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic, the Georgia Music Educator’s Association, and the National Association for Music Education-Northwest Division Conference; his most notable engagements include being one of the first American conductors to guest-conduct the Admiralty Navy Band of St. Petersburg, Russia and being selected as finalist for The American Prize in Wind Conducting Competition in 2015.

From 2007-2011 Dr. Badua was the Director of Bands and Arts Department Chair at Peninsula High School and District Music Coordinator of the Peninsula School District in Gig Harbor, WA. In these roles, he developed a comprehensive band program, which included a Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, Percussion Ensemble, Marching Band, Color Guard and Winter Guard. During his tenure, he raised the standard of excellence and increased enrollment from 68 to 120 students over four years, with each ensemble consistently receiving “Superior” ratings at all festival and contests in the region, most notably the Wind Ensemble’s performance at the 2011 National Association for Music Education Conference-Northwest in Bellevue, WA.

Dr. Badua is a native of Honolulu, Hawaii but upon high school graduation moved to Washington to earn his Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree from the University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA where he also received an honorary fellowship to complete his Master of Arts in Teaching and was a conducting student of Dr. Robert Taylor. He holds professional memberships with the California Music Educator’s Association (CMEA), Southern California Schools Band & Orchestra Association (SCSBOA), College Music Society, National Association for Music Education (NAfME), World Association for Symphonic Bands & Ensembles (WASBE) and the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA).

Dr. Badua was the Na Koa Ali'i's first drum major in 2003 representing Kamehameha Schools. In the past two recent tours, Mr Badua has returned to be on staff to assist Charles Iwanaga with the group travel planning.

Mr. Iwanaga has developed an extensive background -- having taught, designed or consulted numerous bands and drum & bugle corps in Northern California and Hawaii. Many of these groups have won local, national and international awards and distinctions; as well as toured throughout the United States and abroad. 1998-1999 Mr. Iwanaga was on the visual staff of the Concord Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps, which had won the Drum Corps International World Championships in 1999. Mr. Iwanaga has also served on the Board of Directors for Santa Clara Vanguard – where he held the positions of Chairman of the Board and Booster Club Treasurer. He was also member of the Santa Clara Vanguard Alumni Corps, and was instrumental in establishing the SCV Alumni Association. He recently performed with the Alumni Corps who were featured at the 2017 DCI Championship Semi-Finals. He was a four year member of the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum & Bugle Corps which won the Drum Corps International Championship on his age-out year in 1978.

Mr. Iwanaga received his Bachelors of Arts in Music Education and teaching credential from San Jose State University. Although his major instrument was saxophone, Charles was a member in the trombone section in the return of the Spartan Marching Band in 1978.

After graduating in 1981, he began teaching at middle school at Milpitas Unified School District and St. Francis High School, Charles return to SJSU and the Spartan Marching Band as a member for several more years. He later earned Master of Business Administration from Santa Clara University. He return to teaching at Lincoln High School where the marching band ended the season in first place in WBA and the winter guard placed first in WGI High School Class A.

He is currently Assistant to the Director of Athletic Bands at San Jose State University and in his eighth year as visual instructor/drill designer for the San Jose State University Spartan Marching Band.

Mr Iwanaga is also visual caption head and movement technician for the Fremont High School Firebird Marching Band, Sunnyvale, California where the group finished in first place Class 4A Northern California Band Association 2021 Championships and took overall sweepstakes in Visual Caption. Some past groups Mr. Iwanaga had acted as a consultant for includes Branham High School Marching Band, San Jose, California and Pearl City High School Charger Band from Pearl City, Hawaii.

Mr. Iwanaga presently works as a travel consultant for school performing groups. He is currently working on re-establishing the Na Koa Ali’i – Hawai’i All State Marching Band and organizing a tour to Southern California December of 2018 - performing in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day 2019. The group recently also made their third appearance at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2016. He had been on staff with the group since 2002 and has been planning and coordinating every tour.

Mr. Iwanaga had previously worked as business manager for Iwanaga Farms, Inc. as well as sitting on the board of directors for Naturipe Berry Growers and the California Strawberry Commission.

His extra curricular activity includes event management of the DCI West Championships at Stanford Stadium for the Blue Devils Parents Association and is a member of the California Strawberry Farm Workers Scholarship Selection Committee awarding several thousands of dollars to deserving students. He has in the past been marching instructor and drum major for the Kingsmen Alumni Corps and Vanguard Alumni Corps, event management and master of ceremonies for the Morgan Hill Haru Matsuri/Northern California Taiko Expo.

Mr. Iwanaga is married and has one son, currently residing in Gilroy, California.