Night at the movies
March 13 & 14, 2021 | 8:00 PM & 4:00PM | Michigan Theater
Behind the Music
The music in movies is often what truly brings our favorite films to life. For some, movie music is even what first sparks the love for orchestral music. On March 13 & 14, we will pay tribute to some of Hollywood’s greatest soundtracks!
PROGRAM
Coming soon!
Morihiko Nakahara, conductor
Morihiko Nakahara, Conductor
BIOGRAPHY
The 2020-2021 season marks Morihiko Nakahara’s 13th season as Music Director of the South Carolina Philharmonic and 18th season as Resident Conductor of the Spokane Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, Nakahara serves as Director of Orchestral Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In addition to his wide ranging activities with these orchestras, Nakahara will also guest conduct the Portland Symphony (ME) as well as the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra during the current season.
Known for his charismatic presence on and off the podium, innovative and audience-friendly programming skills, and thoughtful interpretations of both standard and contemporary repertoire, Nakahara was featured in the League of American Orchestra’s prestigious Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview in March 2005. Recent guest conducting engagements include appearances with the Buffalo Philharmonic, symphonies of Oregon, Jacksonville, Charleston, Chattanooga, Stockton, Lansing, Peoria, and Green Bay, as well as with the Chicago Pro Musica and the 2019 Maine All-State Orchestra. Recipient of the David Effron Conducting Fellowship at the Chautauqua Institution in 1999, he recently returned to guest conduct the Music School Festival Orchestra there.
A native of Kagoshima, Japan, Nakahara holds degrees from Andrews University and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He previously served as Associate Conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Holland Symphony Orchestra (Michigan), and served on the faculty at Eastern Washington University and Andrews University.
Fast Facts
An Outlier
When compared to other works from Dvorâk’s “American period,” his Cello Concerto No. 1 in B minor occupies a unique sonic space. The work is notably meloncholic with some of the most emotive and expressive melodic phrases written during the composer’s stay in America. While other well-known compositions from this period are reflections on Dvorâk’s new surroundings, this cello concerto looks inward.
Not Your Average Fairy
Six years before Stravinisky premiered his four-movement orchestral suite of A Fary’s Kiss in New York City, the work was premiered as a ballet in Paris. This larger-scale production was adapted from the dark Hans Christien-Andersen fariytale, The Ice Maiden. The story is of a boy who is cursed with immortality from a kiss. The fairy in the story broke the mold for fairytales of this time period displaying a bosterious personality and commanding precense on stage.
By The Numbers
number of movies John Williams has composed music for
year of the first a2so performance
Musicians in Your A2SO
SEE YOU AT THE SYMPHONY!