Our Directors
Ken Abrams
Director
Ken Abrams was the beloved choral director at San Ramon Valley High School for 36 years. And since 1992 he has also been the artistic director of the Danville Girls Chorus - a community children’s choir with over 150 singers in five separate levels with a staff of nine professionals. He is a graduate of California State University, Hayward, where he majored in vocal performance and graduated cum laude. He received his Master’s Degree in choral conducting from the University of Illinois in 1990 and graduated magna cum laude. The SRVHS choirs were noted for their commitment to excellence and for their outstanding ranking at competitions and festivals as well as 16 first place awards at the prestigious Northern California Golden State Choral Competition.
Mr. Abrams was selected as "Teacher of The Year" for the San Ramon Valley Unified School District in 1996, at San Ramon Valley High School in 2002 and by the Danville Chamber of Commerce in 2006. He was also awarded Volunteer of the Year for the town of Danville in 2007. Touring was an important component of the curriculum at SRVHS and his choirs made two domestic trips annually as well as eight international tours -- Central Europe, the British Isles, Australia/New Zealand, Spain, the Baltics with Russia, Costa Rica, Argentina/Uruguay and Italy/Slovenia/Croatia. The latter trip featured performances at the Vatican and at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice. In addition, he undertook “Rebuild and Renew” tours to NYC in 2002 after the 9/11 tragedies, New Orleans in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina, and Houston in 2018 after Hurricane Harvey.
Ken is the past-president of the California chapter of the American Choral Director’s Association (ACDA), and he also served as the High School Representative for the ACDA Western Division Region (California, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah and Arizona). Lastly, Ken’s groups were featured at two prominent ACDA Western Division Conferences - Los Angeles in 2008 and Tucson in 2010. He is eager and excited about his partnership with the Blackhawk Chorus and is grateful to founding director, Diane Gilfether, for her wonderful leadership and vision over the past thirty years. Ken looks forward to “continuing the traditions” so well established with this family of singers.
Kenji Harada
Assistant Director & Accompanist
Kenji is a pianist, music director, music producer, and music educator. He studied piano and voice at the University of Hawai’i. It was during this time that his career as a professional musician began—music directing at Mānoa Valley Theatre and at Diamond Head Theatre, playing keys and writing arrangements for the Latin dance band Afro-Criollo Sound, as well as working with talent to produce entertainment for the American Cancer Society’s Hope Galas.
Since moving to the California Bay Area, Kenji has been seen playing for organizations such as Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choirs, San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, Berkeley Playhouse, Transcendence Theatre Company, Woodminster Summer Musicals, and Center Repertory Company. He has also been lucky enough to premiere a few new musicals with Berkeley
Repertory Theatre including Paradise Square, Kiss My Aztec!, Goddess, and Galileo: A Rock Musical.
In 2024, Kenji had the privilege of working with Dan Koek from London’s West End and Broadway’s Ashley Loren. He has also been dedicating more time to studio production with local singer-songwriters, and over the summer he released a single and music video titled “Whereabouts” with Eli DeYoe.
