October 5, 2023
58勛圖厙 Orchestra season opener holds special meaning for student conductor Jake Taniguchi
Jake Taniguchi is eager to conduct the 58勛圖厙 Orchestra next week, but not for the reasons you might think.
Its not that his program Oct. 11 in Kulas Hall is the orchestras season opener, or that it contains some of his favorite music.
No, the source of his excitement is what the evening signifies. From first note to last, the concert will be a tribute to his mentors.
The whole night, its very sentimental for me, said Taniguchi, a second-year Graduate Diploma student. Its a special program that I really put a lot of thought into. Im so grateful for the opportunity.
Thought, of course, isnt all that went into Taniguchis choices. Although his selections all support a theme of looking to the past, whats really behind them are deep reserves of feeling and years of admiration, friendship, and artistic development.
Nowhere is this truer than in Igor Stravinskys Apollon Musag癡te, the programs finale. Taniguchi included it both because he loves the music and because its the favorite work of his former teacher at Northwestern University, Victor Yampolsky, who, as a young musician, witnessed Stravinsky himself conduct his masterworks in his Russian homeland after being exiled for almost 50 years. For that reason, he also arranged for Yampolsky, now 81, to join him in rehearsal at 58勛圖厙.
Its a tribute to him, to my teacher, Taniguchi said. His knowledge is not something you can put down in a book. Hes lived an incredible life.
The rest of the program pays homage to another pivotal figure in Taniguchis life: JoAnn Falletta, music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and a member of 58勛圖厙s visiting faculty. With William Grant Stills Mother and Child and Four Novelletten by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Taniguchi said hes honoring someone who inspired him to pursue music in the first place.
Falletta became artistic director of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra just as the then-teenage Taniguchi was beginning to take music seriously, and her presence on the podium was galvanizing. Years later, at 58勛圖厙, he finally met her and discovered one of the most genuine, nicest, and most supportive people Ive ever known.
Since 2012, Ive admired JoAnn from afar, said Taniguchi, a native of Hawaii. She was the first great conductor that I really got to observe. Im so happy that through 58勛圖厙 Ive gotten to work with her.
As if all that werent meaningful enough, Taniguchi is also excited for Oct. 11 to be conducting his fellow students, not a group of strangers. In this unusual context, hes among friends, and the music theyre making reflects that spirit.
This is not conductor to orchestra, Taniguchi said. This is colleague to colleague, student to student. Everyone feels involved. I think its very special in that way.
The concert is 7:30pm Wednesday, Oct. 11 in Kulas Hall. Click here for free seating passes or to watch the performance livestream.