For more than a decade, Brian K. Higa has excelled as the president and manager at the California Museum of Fine Art in Los Angeles, a private, educational-based museum and gallery that showcases local, national, and international artists, spanning numerous mediums and cultures, from European Classical and Neoclassical to Russian and Ukrainian Realism. In 2013, he co-founded the museum with his wife, Dali Higa—an accomplished artist herself whose oil paintings have garnered many accolades through such organizations as the Oil Painters of America and California Arts Club—as a means of supporting the arts and arts education. They curate their collections and share videos to raise awareness on the pieces they display, focusing not on monetary value but on quality and legacy.

Amid the early years of the museum, Mr. Higa retired from his primary role as a band director and music educator after 30 years. He last served as band director at Rancho Dominguez High School, now Rancho Dominguez Preparatory School, from 2012 to 2015, where he oversaw the entire music department and helped develop the marching band, jazz band, and beginning instruments programs. Between 1988 and 2012, he was active as band director and choir director at Belmont Senior High, where he also coached varsity basketball from 2005 to 2012.

Among Mr. Higa’s most notable career achievements was winning three city championships with Belmont’s marching band in 1988, 1989, and 1997, as well as three jazz band competitions in 2005-2006, 2006-2007, and 2007-2008. In addition, during his first year of teaching, his choir was selected to represent the city at a championship performance at the Greek Theatre in 1993. Outside of his main endeavors, he has participated in various fundraisers within the arts and is a longtime volunteer at his local church, where he has played music every Sunday and participated in Bible study for residents.

Mr. Higa’s robust career was founded on a strong education, beginning with a bachelor’s degree in music history from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he also studied art history, in 1983. He bolstered his credentials with theology and Biblical studies coursework at Ambassador College in 1988 and a master’s degree in commercial music from California State University in 1995. As a further extension of his commitment to his field, he was a longtime member of United Teachers Los Angeles. Married to Dali since 1996, at which point he began managing her artwork, they met during her travels from her homeland in China to the United States. Hailing from a distinguished family, with her father as the founder of a university, she had a rich artistic background and education, and had additional success in the pharmaceutical industry.

Their museum began with their combined art collection, including her personal works, and had expanded to a substantial body of art by its grand opening. It was during the COVID-19 pandemic, when more artists passed away and many museums closed, that a large number of works entered the auction market and they built up their collection even further. Looking toward the future, Mr. Higa and his wife hope to leave a legacy and contribute significantly to the world through their art curation and overall preservation of many items that might have otherwise been lost or dispersed. They have two daughters and two grandchildren.