Columbia, SC (WLTX) When you attend and orchestra, what you're seeing and hearing is the final product in action. Musicians, who are all singular in their expertise, are brought together by the wave of a wand, all working as one. And it's a thing of beauty. But it's a long road to reach that polished finish. The South Carolina Philharmonic conductor is Morihiko Nakahara. Nakahara started his musical journey in Japan, when he was asked to fill in for his middle school band director.
Nakahara says ,"I knew then somehow that that's what I wanted to do, because I didn't have to communicate verbally as much. You communicate non-verbally, and I felt more at home."
That was a turning point. After that, he set his sights on studying in the states, his first task was trying to convince his family to let him come to the US to study. His support came from an unlikely source.
"My mother initially was against it. My grandfather was more traditional, so he was against it. But my grandmother, I was kind of surprised by this, my grandmother was the one who really raised me, and she was the one who said, if that's what you want to do, then do that," recalls Morihiko.
So, at age 15 Morihiko immigrated to America. Having only taken required English classes in Japan, he chose to stay with a host family in Western Michigan, as a way to come out of his shell.
Moihiko says, "Since I'm shy, I figured the best way to learn the language was, if I were in a dorm I would just not talk to people, if I was doing a home stay, then you have no choice but to talk with the host family. So that sort of attracted me."
While bridging that language gap, Nakahara threw himself into the two things that have a universal language; music and math, while becoming ever more enchanted with the prospect of life at the front of the stage.
"I still had this notion that I wanted to be like my band director, become a great band director in school. Then the conducting aspect of that kind of took hold, took over," he says.
Morihiko has found his style over the years. He's a seemingly jovial and laid-back orchestra leader, and challenges the status quo of hard-nosed, fire-you-for-one-mistake conductors of the past.
Morihiko says, "Generally speaking, especially in the US, I think the days of these kind of dictatorial style of conducting is basically over. I think people are looking for more of that sense of teamwork and collaboration, and more of a coaching style change really."
He now splits his time conducting the South Carolina Philharmonic and the Spokane Symphony Orchestra in Washington state. He's also the Director of Orchestral Studies at UMASS Amherst. He's certainly come a long way from the 15-year-old immigrant that loved music and just wanted to study here.
Morihiko is married to a US citizen, however, he is here on a green card, which he has to renew every ten years. He says he would love to have duel citizenship, but after the age of 20, Japan doesn't allow duel citizenship. If you attain a citizenship from another country, the Japanese government views that as renouncing you Japanese citizenship. He's hoping those laws will soon change. So for now, he is considered an immigrant, though he's now spend more than half of his life here in the US. He says he does try to make it back to Japan at least once a year.
The next time you can see Nakahara in action here in Columbia will be September 29th, 2018. That will kick off the opening of the philharmonic season. You can also get a season pass and attend all the concerts, which breaks down to just $14 per show.