is a Japanese conductor. Born in

Kagoshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,599,779 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 9,187 km2 (3,547 sq mi). Kagoshima Prefecture borders Kumamoto P ...

, Japan, Nakahara is the music director and conductor at the

South Carolina Philharmonic The South Carolina Philharmonic is an orchestra based in Columbia, South Carolina, USA. Performances are held at the Koger Center for the Arts in Columbia. The current concertmaster is Mary Lee Taylor Kinosian. The orchestra was founded in 1963 ...

, and resident conductor of the

Spokane Symphony The Spokane Symphony is a 70-piece professional orchestra based in Spokane, WA that performs more than 65 concerts per year for more than 150,000 listeners. It was originally incorporated in 1945 as the Spokane Philharmonic before being renamed ...

. Nakahara received a Master of Music degree in instrumental conducting from the

University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, where he studied with Rodney Winther. In 1998 he received a Bachelor of Music degree in music education from

Andrews University Andrews University is a private Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists and is the flagship universit ...

. He has done additional conducting studies with Larry Rachleff, Mark Gibson, Jerry Junkin, and Alan Mitchell. Nakahara was featured in the American Symphony Orchestra League's National Conductor Preview in March 2005. An advocate of new music, Nakahara has collaborated with notable contemporary composers as

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...

Michael Torke Michael Torke (; born September 22, 1961) is an American composer who writes music influenced by jazz and minimalism. Torke was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he attended Wilson Elementary School, graduated from Wauwatosa East High School, an ...

Augusta Read Thomas Augusta Read Thomas (born April 24, 1964) is an American composer and professor. Biography Thomas studied composition with Oliver Knussen at Tanglewood; Jacob Druckman at Yale University; Alan Stout and Bill Karlins at Northwestern University ...

Azio Corghi Azio Corghi (9 March 1937 – 17 November 2022) was an Italian composer, academic teacher and musicologist. He composed mostly operas and chamber music. His operas are often based on literature, especially in collaboration with José Saramago a ...

, Menachem Zur, and Yasuhide Ito. Nakahara regularly appears on the Masterworks, Pops, and Sunset Symphony series and was appointed as artistic director of educational and outreach concerts with the Spokane Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he has been a clinician, guest conductor, and speaker at various educational institutions throughout the Inland Northwest. Nakahara was formerly music director and conductor of the Holland Symphony Orchestra in Holland, Michigan. The 2006–2007 season marked his last season with the Holland Symphony Orchestra. In the 2006–07 season, Nakahara held the

Bruno Walter Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876February 17, 1962) was a German-born conductor, pianist and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French citizen in 1938, and settled in the Un ...

Associate Conductor Chair. Nakahara is one of two chosen for this award. In April 2008, Nakahara was named the music director of the

, based in Columbia. His appointment took effect with the 2008–2009 season. In 2017, Nakahara was named assistant professor and director of Orchestral Studies at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

Department of Music, where he leads the UMass Symphony Orchestra.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakahara, Morihiko 1975 births 21st-century conductors (music) Andrews University alumni Japanese conductors (music) Japanese male conductors (music) Living people Musicians from Kagoshima Prefecture People from Kagoshima Prefecture University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music alumni