The World Youth Symphony Orchestra presents a brilliant program of orchestral fireworks this Sunday, July 26 at Kresge Auditorium, with four pieces spanning centuries: "Utage" by Natsumi Yamamoto, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" by Paul Dukas, the "Montgomery Variations" by Margaret Bonds and the "Polovtsian Dances" by Alexander Borodin.
Classical IPR will be broadcasting the concert on Sunday evening starting at 7 p.m., with pre- and post-show commentary by music director Amanda Sewell and Classical IPR fellow Isabel Li.
Interlochen Arts Academy and Camp alumnus Keitaro Harada, the conductor of this weekend's concert, visited Studio A and spoke to Isabel Li about the wide-ranging styles in the repertoire and his return to campus.
Isabel Li: I want to start by mentioning that you are an Interlochen alum yourself. How does it feel to be back here?
Keitaro Harada: It's really nostalgic. I came on campus yesterday really late, so it was really dark. I couldn't see much, but this morning, you know, seeing the campus in bright daylight, I haven't been back here since 2004, so 22 years ago. There are things that look exactly the same. There are things that look completely foreign to me, and I'm just so happy to be here. It's really a blessing to be back on campus.
IL: What's your favorite part of campus, just out of curiosity?
KH: The security. It's interesting because that high security never existed when I was around. You could always just walk into campus to go to the Melody Freeze. The stone food tastes exactly the same from 22 years ago, so that hasn't developed. But it was just nice to see everything that has all the new stuff, like the Dow suites, the dance building, the film [department], it's new to me. I haven't walked through the main part of the campus yet, but everywhere I look, I'm like, 'oh, I did that there. I did this here.'
You know, this morning I just rehearsed with WYSO at Kresge, and Kresge looks exactly the same to me. I don't think anything has changed for the last many, many years. So it's good to be back.
IL: Well, we're so excited to have you back this week conducting the program. For the past few weeks, there were only about two to three pieces for each program the World Youth Symphony Orchestra. But you're conducting four different pieces. With so much music on the program, how do you make sure that each piece is well rehearsed, especially with a youth orchestra?
KH: So we started this morning. This was our first rehearsal, and then we just went through all of the music just to see where we're at. Everyone was kind of shocked because some of the tempos they thought was much slower, but I took it at wicked speed. And I said, you know, we got to keep it moving. The theme of the program is based around dance. So there's a lot of active dance pieces, but there's enough rehearsal throughout the week. I have two rehearsals every day with the full orchestra. I have sectionals, I have all of these wonderful faculty members working individually with the musicians. And I could tell that the students are they feel the challenge, but they also feel that the music is absolutely gorgeous to play, and fun to work on.
There are music that are familiar to them like they've heard it before. Maybe they haven't played it. And then there's music that is completely new because we're doing a US premiere of one of the pieces. So I'm excited. I think we have just the right amount of time to make it into a wonderful program to present.
IL: Well, you read my mind here because many of us know the melodies from 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' and the 'Polovtsian Dances', orchestral classics. Were there any special moments in rehearsal when you were leading the high school musicians in these very recognizable works?
KH: So we started the rehearsal today with the Borodin, the 'Polovtsian Dances,' and we read through it. And then when we came back to it, we talked about the colors of the music, the melody. What color does it feel like? What are the moods? It starts with a beautiful opening melody that is very sentimental. I asked him for just adjectives and we went with different kinds of adjectives that are opposites. So and then they played like this very opening melody. We played it happy. We played it sad. We played it somber. We played it like depressing. And I asked not just the melody, but the accompaniment to also be characteristic. So it's not just an accompaniment. The accompaniment is also putting colours and elements to the melody.
We also sang a lot in rehearsal. I wanted them to sing it with a happy voice. I wanted them to sing with a sad voice. So we you know, there was a lot of laughter because the basses couldn't sing at all. But, you know, through the laughter, they understood how I see music. And then what's important to me with the process of making music. So I think right from the get-go, they understood what kind of character I am and then how I want this week to be. And we had we had a good time, you know?
IL: 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' by Dukas is, of course, known for its inclusion in Disney's 'Fantasia.' I'm curious for you, when you're conducting this piece, do the images of the film inform how you conduct the piece at all?
KH: You know, it's funny that you say that. My first time experienc[ing] the music is through the 1950s* 'Fantasia,' with Stokowski conducting with Mickey Mouse as the magician. And that imagery is so stuck in my head that every moment of the music, I could really picture that moment. I saw that movie countless times growing up. So it's hard to avoid that. And I have also, throughout my career, conducted concerts where they showed 'Fantasia,' the movie, with the live orchestra performing. And so I've done that multiple times. It's stuck in my in my DNA.
I think it's a good imagery to have because it's very picturesque. I think Walt Disney did a fantastic job putting the music of Dukas into the storyline of Mickey Mouse being the Sorcerer's Apprentice and the broom, you know, that keeps multiplying like crazy.
IL: I want to get to the two lesser known pieces on the program, 'Utage' by Natsumi Yamamoto and the 'Montgomery Variations' by Margaret Bonds. Can you tell us about Natsumi Yamamoto and her music? She's the only living composer on this program.
KH: Correct. So Natsumi is a composer that I am a mentor of. So one of the orchestras that I am a conductor of is the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. And at Tokyo Symphony, I created a program for young composers. So a lot of young composers after college, they don't really have a way to make their career. What I've developed is that every year I select one composer. And then the way I select a composer is that I have little children under the age of middle school write melodies, and I select about six melodies and post it online. Young composers post-college before the age of thirty take these melodies and create like a five minute orchestral piece. The selected piece gets performed at Suntory Hall with Tokyo Symphony. It gets recorded visually, audio recording, and it gets published out into the universe. But that selected composer then gets to spend 12 months with my mentorship to be introduced to different orchestras, develop their website, their social media presence, and have opportunities to compose original works and arrangements.
Natsumi is the third composer in my project, and so she has written a lot of commissions for different orchestras. 'Utage' is a commission that was commissioned by the Gunma Symphony Orchestra south of Tokyo, and it was written for me. It features multiple dances, traditional Japanese dances that often gets danced in the summertime. And so there are several melodies that are just really very close to my heart. And then melodies that I grew up with. And we premiered this work in 2024.
Because I was coming here to work with WYSO, I asked her to make a little bit of adjustments to sort of upgrade the experience for the musicians playing it. So WYSO is performing the new version of 'Utage.' It's very catchy. It's got a very catchy bassline that I made everyone sing today. So I told everyone that they have to be scatting this rhythm every time I see them on campus. [There are] melodies that are completely foreign to them if they're not Japanese, and the majority of the musicians aren't. So it's melody that is new to them. But I'm going to sing for them what the melody means. There's a little bit of choreography that I'm thinking of, where they're going to choreograph on stage, like physical choreography in addition to playing. I'm thinking of what to do about that. But I just need to see their energy level and then what they're capable of. But I think they like the music. I like the music. Personally, I think it's really, really fun. And I hope they're enjoying the process of learning this new piece.
"[Music] is such a wonderful power that they have, and I want them to be able to exercise all of the magic that they have and enjoy making music together."Conductor Keitaro Harada
IL: And this is the US premiere of it?
KH: Yes, it is a US premiere.
IL: That is so exciting. And then lastly, the 'Montgomery Variations' by Margaret Allison Bonds. Can you tell us a bit about this work? She's a 20th century African American composer.
KH: One of the highly celebrated composers black composers in the day. However, it was a very difficult time in the US, so her music didn't get as widespread. This particular piece was introduced to me via Cristian Macelaru, the music director. He and I are roommates at Tanglewood. We were living together for an entire summer. Um, really good friends. And then we were also now in Ohio together because I'm the conductor for Dayton Philharmonic. He's a conductor for Cincinnati Symphony. We're an hour away from each other.
And when we were developing this program for this summer for my guest conducting, he suggested the 'Montgomery Variations.' And I thought, 'oh, that is perfect,' because it is music that is really dear to America. You know, America celebrating its 250th anniversary. I really wanted to make sure there was some kind of American music in the programming, and this music is very approachable. The story of the 'Montgomery Variations' is a very sad story. The history behind it is not the greatest history of African American history.
But what Bonds does is [she] takes the journey of this tragedy that happened in Montgomery, Alabama, and puts it into music to tell a storyline. There's seven variations in the music, and then each variation is specific to a specific moment in the telling of the history. Her music is extremely approachable. I think she has the most beautiful orchestration colors. It is sort of like going to church. It takes one melody and then it has a lot of different simple variations that really develops throughout each movement. And it's so gorgeous. We played it for the first time this morning at rehearsal and the very last moment, so so gorgeous. And I asked the orchestra to stand as if they're, you know, at church and then and then play this melody. And so we played the last ten minutes just standing and just enjoy the harmony that surrounds them. I think they're understanding this is American music. This is music written in this country for telling the story of America. So I'm excited that they're able to perform this piece.
IL: We're also very excited to hear it in concert this Sunday. Last question, now that you're working with young musicians here at Interlochen— these are really two questions — how did Interlochen shape your journey as a musician and conductor, and how do you hope to impact the students you're working with this week?
KH: Interlochen for me was everything that I am today. I came from Tokyo, Japan to come to the Academy my junior year and senior year. I came to the Camp two years and here is where I learned about the beauty of making music, the art of really focusing on honing your craft. You're surrounded by the best of the best of your age group. They inspire you, they make you work harder.
A lot of people who come to Interlochen, they're usually the best musician or best artist or best writer or best whatever they are at their hometown, and they come here and they're like, 'oh my gosh, everyone's so much better than me.' And it's great to be not the top. It's great to be inspired by everyone and they challenge you. That's how I felt here. The friends that I made here when I was a young student, they're everywhere. They're colleagues of mine around the world. And it's the memories that I made here that really shaped who I am as a musician, as a conductor.
I started conducting when I was at Camp. I took the conducting lessons. My conducting teacher from that lesson still teaches at Interlochen. I haven't seen him yet — Mr. Kaufman. Here is where I held the baton and made music in front of a large ensemble, and then I thought, 'okay, this is what I was born to do. This is what I need to be doing.'
It really shaped everything about my life and what I do today. So I want to be able to share my journey as a musician to the young artists that are here this summer. I want them to know that it's not all just very easy, you know, to have a career in music. Not everyone needs to have a career in music, but I want them to be able to understand that they are so fortunate to have the language of music that they are able to do. It's a magical language to be able to communicate with all kinds of people, colleagues that are musicians and also the audience that are hearing their music.
It's such a wonderful power that they have, and I want them to be able to exercise all of the magic that they have and enjoy making music together.
