Anne Ku hosts the thematic song session 3 Chord Thursday AND the monthly meetup of Ukulele Instructors International, both in Zoom. Prior to her current capacity as instructor of ukulele, piano, and music theory and church organist, she hosted the following series in which she interviewed experts to educate and share insight with her audiences.
- Conversations with Musicians (Applause to the Musician YouTube Channel)
- What It Takes to Succeed (WiTTs, Student Success Project, Maui College)
- Electric vehicles (Maui, Hawaii) – US Department of Energy Clean Cities grant
About the Author
Anne Ku is a pianist, organist, and music educator whose journey has spanned continents and genres. Born in Brunei and raised in Taiwan and Okinawa, she eventually settled in the West, where she has dedicated her life to the “universal language” of music.
From the Piano to the Four Strings
Trained as a classical pianist from the age of eight, Anne’s approach to the ukulele is deeply influenced by the piano’s linear logic and harmonic richness. After years of playing with Low G tuning, she eventually embraced the “puzzle” of the High G (re-entrant) ukulele, finding that its unique constraints offered a fresh, creative shortcut to sophisticated arrangements.
Academic Research and Community
Anne’s passion for the ukulele extends beyond performance into scholarship. Her MA in Music dissertation focused on the evolution of ukulele songsheets, uncovering the “paradox” of an instrument that allows for immense musical joy without the traditional requirement of notation. This research led her to found 3 Chord Thursday, a global Zoom community that brings together players of all levels to share in the joy of song.
A Prolific Collaborator
Her latest book in the Pick Pluck Play Series is a collection of her original arrangements for 12 Timeless Love Songs, a part of an ongoing creative partnership with illustrator Eve Myles. Their previous work includes Fun with Ukulele, and they are currently developing Chinese Zodiac, a book of twelve original pentatonic pieces for the high G ukulele, with bespoke illustrations.
Anne currently lives and teaches in Boston, Massachusetts, where she continues to arrange, perform, and inspire a new generation of “chord-melody” enthusiasts.
MUSICIAN
In her youth, Anne Ku was musically active as a band keyboardist, choir accompanist, and church organist on Okinawa before winning a full scholarship to Duke University.
Anne holds a Bachelor of Music honors degree in composition and a teaching diploma in piano (on sightreading) from Utrecht Conservatory and a Master of Arts in Music degree from The Open University in the UK. She taught music at University of Hawaii Maui College before moving to Boston, Massachusetts where she launched her ukulele teaching practice.
Anne believes that the ukulele is the fastest way to making music and staying connected.
Anne is a member of the New England Guitar Orchestra (formerly the Boston Guitar Orchestra) and the Boston Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Her reviews of musical theatre, opera, classical concerts and books appear on Concertblog.
Teaching appearances
Ukulele festivals:
- Intorno All’Ukulele, Cologno, Monzese, Italy (Sunday 26th October 2025)
- Coastal Ukefest, Cohasset, MA (Sunday 4th October 2025)
- Nutmeg Ukulele Festival, Simsbury, Connecticut (September 2024 and 2025)
- Watertown Kids Ukulele Festival, Watertown, Massachusetts (July 2024)
- Port Townsend Ukulele Festival (virtual, September 2020)
- UkuGlobal Ukulele Festival (virtual, July 2020)
- Mountain Ukulele, White Mountains, New Hampshire (July 2019)
- Ukulele Melee, Hamilton, Massachusetts (May 2019)
- Somerlele, Somerville, Massachusetts (May 2019)
- Ukulele Melee, Hamilton, Massachusetts (April 2018)
Educational establishments:
- Passim School of Music (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
- Milton Adult Education (Milton, Massachusetts)
- Cambridge Center for Adult Education (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
- Arlington Community Education (Arlington, Massachusetts)
- University of Hawaii Maui College (Maui, Hawaii)
- Webster University (Leiden, The Netherlands)
- Thames Valley University (London, UK)
- SAE College (London, UK)
Non-educational institutions:
- First Parish, Cohasset, Massachusetts
- Boston Public Library (Adams Street, Lower Mills, Copley Square, Honan-Allston)
- Standish Village (Boston, MA)
- Dot Art (Boston, MA)
- London, UK
Publications & Interviews
Pick Pluck Play! ukulele curriculum on Amazon worldwide
“Happy Helpful Guide to the Ukulele” published in 2020 by UkuGlobal. The 110-page book is accompanied by a video tutorial for each of the 10-steps.
Fun with Uke Book, festive edition 8 easiest songs from one to four chords.
Fun with Uke Book, original illustrations and arrangements of 24 children’s songs based on nursery rhymes. Available as bi-directionally hyperlinked 82-page PDF.
Interview with the amazing multi instrumentalist and ukulele teacher Anne Ku by Paul Mansell, classical guitarist, ukulele teacher, and author, based in England – May 2019.
Featured in “50 Ordinary Women (doing extraordinary things)” – interview by Cathy Shefski, November 2014
Call for Scores: Piano Duets from Hawaii to Holland
a grassroots initiative to introduce pianists to new music of living composers, presented at Arts & Humanities Conference, Honolulu, January 2012
EV in Paradise – newspaper column in Maui Weekly (columnist); EV Paradise (co-author), contributor to EV Business Models
- PhD Thesis (1995) – 472 pages
- Bachelor of Music in Composition (2008) final exam – Culture Shock! a chamber opera
- Bachelor Teaching Diploma in Piano Thesis (2008): On Sightreading (209 pages)
- MA in Music Thesis (2018): Paradox of Simplicity: Song Sheets for Participative Music Making in Ukulele Groups (42 pages)
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