Ruth Murata-Eisen

Director

Based in Maui, Ruth Murata-Eisen is an alumna of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio. As a student, she won first prize in the Tri-state Competition, leading her to perform as a soloist with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. Upon graduation from Oberlin, Ruth began her teaching career after she was hired to return to Maui to take over another teacher’s studio of 50 students. Within 2-3 years, some of Ruth’s students won the opportunity to perform as soloists with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. Other students of Ruth’s have performed with the Maui Symphony Orchestra and on National Public Radio’s From the Top. To this day, Ruth’s students continue to thrive in multiple competitions and in music careers.

Ruth is the owner of the Maui Music Conservatory, located in Kahului. She works with five full-time piano teachers and one string teacher. Ruth also buys and sells pianos and is one of the rare piano teachers who can actually rebuild an entire piano and re-string one. She has been working on her rebuilding skills for the last 10 years or so. She confesses that she is struggling with damper regulation but will get the hang of it soon - after she does 100 or more pianos!

Ruth attributes much of her musical success to former teacher and mentor Ernest Chang, and her mother, who was a piano teacher. It is because of her mother that Ruth began piano lessons and continued with them; her mother did not allow her to quit. Ruth remains deeply grateful to her mother for her impact on her life and never takes for granted all she has done.

In her spare time, Ruth enjoys a wide range of crafting from handmade cards, earrings, and furniture. She also runs an entire lei business from her home, picking and sewing lei every day which then goes into the local supermarkets to sell.