Claire Sakai Hazzard

Violin 

Born and raised in Honolulu, Claire Sakai Hazzard is a graduate of Roosevelt High School and the University of Hawaii where she received a B.A. cum laude in Psychology.  She was a member of the Hawaii Youth Symphony for five years and served as concertmaster during her senior year.  After several years as a violinist with the Don Ho Show, she joined the Honolulu Symphony in 1975 and has been Associate Concertmaster since 1987.

A founding member of the Galliard String Quartet, Claire was also second violinist with the University of Hawaii faculty string quartet and has participated in the Grand Teton, Peter Britt, Rome, Kapalua, and Maui Chamber Music Festivals.  Apart from private teaching, she has also been a chamber music coach at various private schools and local music associations including the Hawaii Youth Symphony.  Her teachers have included Honolulu Symphony violinists Arthur Loventhal, Betty Deeg, and LaVar Krantz, as well as Joachim Chassman, Miwako Watanabe, and Yoko Matsuda--violinists in Southern California.

Hung Wu

Violin

Hung Wu began violin studies at the age of 5 in his native country of Taiwan. A mere 5 years later he appeared as soloist with the Taipei Symphony on a television broadcast. During the course of his music studies in Taiwan, he has won the first prize for the national string quartet competition. At the age of 17, he directed a chorus and a chamber string orchestra; both took the fist prize in the national competition. After completing his obligatory tour of duty in the Taiwanese military, he came to the United States in 1986 to study at the Hartt School of Music in Connecticut where he earned his Artist Diploma in violin performance. He went on to receive his Master of Music degree with honors from New England Conservatory in Boston. He has been the 2nd violin Principal of Honolulu Symphony since 1993. In his free time, he enjoys working on bows for string instruments, teaching, and Chinese cooking.

Mark Butin

Viola

Mark Butin, received his B.M. and M.M. from Northwestern University, where he studied with Peter Slowik. He has been a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the New World Symphony, and is currently Principal Violist of the Honolulu Symphony. Mark is also an avid surfer and commercial pilot.

Karen Bechtel

Cello

Karen Bechtel, Cellist of the Galliard String Quartet is also a native of Honolulu. Karen studied under her father, Dale Bechtel, who started the String Education Program in Hawaii's public schools. She also studied with noted cellist Gabor Rejito. She attended the Music Academy of the West and the University of Southern California. After playing in Hollywood for several years, she returned to Honolulu where she became a member of the cello section on the Honolulu Symphony and teaches orchestra and cello at several private schools.