My name is Miwako Hayama  and I am very excited to be your band director this summer! I have been teaching since 2017 where I have experience working with elementary band, high school band, marching band, musical theater, and Japanese Taiko drumming. I graduated from Miami University (Ohio) with a Bachelor of Instrumental Music Education. My primary instrument is the clarinet! 

I moved to Arizona in 2018 after being born and raised in Ohio and I am enjoying the warm weather every day! I currently live in the Valley with my husband and our dog, Pepper. My husband is also a musician (clarinet) and currently works at ASU. We met performing at our college marching band together! 

Outside of teaching, I enjoy performing in the Arizona Wind Symphony ensemble in Tempe and working out at karate. I also enjoy drawing, painting, cooking, attempting to play the ukulele, and playing games on the Nintendo Switch. 

Please reach out at any time with any questions or concerns you may have. Email is the best way to reach me. As a protection for internet security, I can’t put my exact email on this web page however my email address is: firstname.lastname@ gilbertschools.net.