Bio

Performer

With family ties to the island of Oʻahu, Andy developed an insatiable love for Hawaiian music and the fingerstyle tradition of kī hōʻalu (slack key guitar.) For over a decade, he has returned to Hawaiʻi to study with a host of Hawaiian slack key guitar masters including Ozzie Kotani, Keola Beamer, George Kahumoku, Jr. and Raymond Kāne. Andy's Hawaiian name, Kūlana, was given to him by songwriter, hula teacher and Hawaiian cultural authority, Auntie Nona Beamer.

Andy has performed Hawaiian music, solo or with other musicians, at a variety of events and venues in the New York tri-state area and beyond. In 2007, he performed at the 15th Annual Taro Festival in Hana, Maui and opened for the Mākāha Sons and Hōkū Zuttermeister at the Thomas J. Meehan Center for the Performing Arts. In 2010, he was a special guest, joining HAPA in Fall River, MA and New York City.  He has provided musical accompaniment for various hula groups including Hālau Pua Aliʻi ʻIlima O Nuioka, Hui Nā Pua A Ka Makani, and Nā Lehua Melemele.

"I find the nahenahe (gentle) sounds of Hawaiian music to be a pleasant diversion from work." Andy is a Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager at Runnymede Capital Management. Andy earned a BA in International Studies with honors from Trinity College.

Recording Artist

Andy is a member of the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts (HARA) - a non-profit organization founded more than 20 years ago for the purpose of preserving the music and culture of Hawaiʻi. Andy co-wrote and performed on Aloha Pāpālua which appears on Darin Leong's Nā Hōkū Hanohano nominated album 5 Years and Many Miles.

Community Builder

In 2002, Andy founded www.Taropatch.net, the online community dedicated to Hawaiian music and culture. Mentioned in Acoustic guitar magazine, Lonely Planet, and the Honolulu Advertiser, Taropatch.net has become recognized as a valuable resource connecting fans, students and performers of slack key and Hawaiian music from all over the world.

Andy is a board member of Hālāwai, a New York not-for-profit corporation, whose mission is to foster and support a community of individuals who share a common interest in the heritage, culture, history and future of the people of Hawaiʻi and other Pacific Islands.

In 2009, Andy brought the Hawaiian Treasures Celebration Tour featuring George Kahumoku, Jr., Dennis Kamakahi and Richard Hoʻopiʻi to New Jersey. Proceeds from the concert benefited the music program at The Episcopal Church of St. Paul.