Audience members gathered in the McKay Auditorium to hear the Hawaii Symphonic Band, an ensemble which only comes every two years, perform under the direction of Ernest Taniguchi, the music director of the BYU–Hawaii Chamber Orchestra on March 30.The program featured three soloists: award-winning taiko drummer Kenny Endo, and two BYUH students, Momoe Sakurai and Emily Shek.
Various members of the ensemble were dressed in bow ties and black slacks as they sat poised in their chairs, ready to perform.
Sister Colleen Haynie, a full-time senior missionary from Missouri, said the concert was wonderful. “I just love the diversity. It’s so different from most of the concerts you go to on the mainland. Both of our students [who performed] from BYUH were fantastic on the timpani and guzheng. I enjoyed both of them.”
She added, “You would have to pay a lot of money to see something like this on the mainland.” Admission to the concert was free.
The Hawaii Symphonic Band is BYU–Hawaii’s resident ensemble. According to the concert program, it is scheduled to perform on campus every two years and will feature student soloists or BYUH ensembles.
Sakurai, a junior from Japan and music major, said she was excited to perform with the orchestra. At the concert, Sakurai performed “Concerto for Timpani and Band” by Lee Actor. She said it was her first performance as a soloist accompanied by a large ensemble. “I hope this won’t be the last time I play a concerto and that I will have many opportunities to perform in the future.”
Sakurai described playing the timpani, a percussion instrument, as addicting. “You never get bored. It has a really loud sound… you make the mood of the music and control the feeling. When it gets louder the audience gets excited. When you roll it and crescendo then everyone knows this is the climax and it’s about to get awesome.”
Kristi Aurich, a sophomore from Arizona majoring in TESOL, said she loved how committed the performers were. “They’re not lazy people. Everybody up there put so much effort into creating this experience for the audience. It was also really cool how when the taiko player [Kenny Endo] was drumming, you could feel it. You could feel the vibrations, feel it reverberating in your chest.”
Cambree Oliver, a sophomore from Arizona majoring in graphic design, said, “I’m not musically inclined but I really enjoyed the performance. You could see where the pieces wanted to take you. It was really incredible to feel where the music wanted you to go.”
Oliver said how, in her mind, the music took her to a calm and quiet place she knew in BYU Jerusalem where she could gather her thoughts. The music brought her a well-welcomed peace.
Hoi Man “Emily” Shek, a senior music major from Hong Kong, performed “The Butterfly Lovers’ Concerto” on her traditional Chinese string instrument the Guzheng. Shek said the concerto tells a tragic love story reminiscent of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.”
Though she said she was nervous about performing it, Shek said she found confidence in trusting herself and the conductor and his vision. “Music helps me express my emotions and feelings and tell stories to others… I hope the audience can see the beauty of Chinese music and the message behind the piece I played.”
Every time the conductor, Ernest Taniguchi, came on stage the audience burst into applause. Dressed in a tuxedo jacket with coattails, Taniguchi had a commanding presence as he powerfully swung his arms and bounced on the balls of his feet, directing both the band and the audience in the direction he wanted to go.
When asked what she thought of the conductor, Aurich said, “He’s so passionate. I feel like when he’s conducting he sees colors in the music. He sees the story behind the music and he tries to help us see that too.”
Before beginning the concert, Taniguchi said it was a conductor’s prerogative to imagine the story behind a composer’s music and help the audience do the same. Taniguchi also implored the audience to continue supporting the arts.
The ensemble and soloists received a standing ovation at the performance and Taniguchi expressed appreciation for Siuai Laufou, a composer who helped to arrange many of the pieces performed at the concert.
Writer: Emi Wainwright