Aaron J. Salā is an ethnomusicologist from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He is currently the Director of Cultural Affairs at Royal Hawaiian Center in Waikīkī, Oʻahu, and Specialist Faculty at the University of Hawaiʻi-West Oʻahu. Salā trained classically in both piano and voice but also trained in the art of traditional Native Hawaiian chant. The recipient of many accolades, Aaron J. Salā is an accomplished recording artist and consummate musician in his own right. He is an award-winning vocalist, pianist, composer, arranger, conductor, producer, director, adjudicator, music scholar, and Hawaiian music professor.

In Hawaiian music circles, Salā has been primarily known as the musician with the extraordinary piano talent who has helped turn other performers into award-winning recording artists. His self-produced debut album entitled, “Ka ‘Upu Aloha— Alone With My Thoughts”, gained him the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award (Hawaiian Grammy) for Most Promising Artist of 2006. The album received the Haku Mele (Hawaiian language composition) Award as well as nominations in five other categories for the Hawaiian Grammy that year. Salā has performed in renowned venues including Carnegie Hall, Wembley Arena, the Wilten Basilica, Bunkamura Hall, and the Hawai‘i Theatre. His studies in choral and orchestral conducting and scoring make him a sought after arranger. Since 2002, he has served as a choral arranger for the annual Kamehameha Schools Song Contest and has worked as music director and arranger for several Walt Disney projects, such as Moana.