蜜柚直播

鈥淚 watched 鈥楨.T.鈥� when I was in Japan and you could not buy Reese鈥檚 Pieces in Japan,鈥� said the conductor, who returns to 蜜柚直播 this weekend to conduct two 鈥淓.T.鈥� cine-concerts with the 蜜柚直播 Symphony Orchestra. 鈥淪o when I first came to the U.S., when I saw Reese鈥檚 Pieces, I thought that鈥檚 the snack that brings aliens. That鈥檚 ET鈥檚 favorite snack.鈥�

Don鈥檛 be surprised if you see a bag of Reese鈥檚 Pieces on the podium at 蜜柚直播 Music Hall as Harada leads the orchestra through the glorious John Williams鈥� score while the movie plays on a big screen.

鈥淥ne of the great things about John Williams is that he really uses the themes of characters and themes of the moment and place,鈥� Harada, a University of 蜜柚直播 alumnus, said during a phone call from Tokyo. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 just genius.鈥�

Harada, who has been a regular guest conductor with the TSO over the past decade, lives in Tokyo with his wife, fashion designer and professional tennis player Yuri Kurashima. Harada, 34, splits his time between his native Tokyo and Savannah, Georgia, where he is music and artistic director of the Savannah Philharmonic orchestra 鈥� a position he landed last summer after serving as an assistant conductor for several American orchestras including with 蜜柚直播 Opera. The Savannah job is his first music director position.

Harada has been conducting cine-concerts 鈥� where the orchestra performs the score live while the movie plays 鈥� since he did 鈥淔antasia鈥漺ith the TSO in 2014.

鈥淚t鈥檚 so fun. I love, love, love conducting film with live orchestras. There鈥檚 something really exciting about it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think at the heart of why I enjoy this one is that it鈥檚 John Williams. His score is such genius.鈥�

That score got Williams an Academy Award for 鈥淓.T.鈥�

鈥淲hen you think about the 1970s and the trend back then was, especially with sci-fi movies, to use electronic sounds, sounds coming out of keyboards and crazy electronic things. Then here comes Mr. John Williams ... and a story about something that is unimaginable, an extraterrestrial, and the music that we hear is symphonic, something that we can relate to. It鈥檚 a great mix of all kinds of worlds.鈥�

Harada has done a number of cine-concerts since his first in 蜜柚直播 and is on a go-to conductor list put out by Disney studios for orchestras mounting the concerts, he said. The concerts can be tricky when it comes to performing the score live in sync with the film.

鈥淔or me what鈥檚 really fun is syncing the sound of the live performance with the video and that鈥檚 a real skill that鈥檚 super necessary for the contemporary conductor,鈥� he said, and something that is particularly challenging when the music is integral to the action on the screen.

Harada points to the scene in 鈥淓.T.鈥� where Elliott, the little boy who finds the lovable alien in the tool shed, is racing on his bike with E.T. in the basket, heading to the area in the forest where E.T.鈥檚 people will pick him up. Williams鈥� score builds the drama of the moment and one note out of sync will rob the tension.

鈥淭his is a movie that has been seen by millions of people. And the audience, even though they may not have been familiar with the score, they are familiar with the music,鈥� Harada said.

鈥淲illiams really is such a great opera composer, even though he鈥檚 never written an opera,鈥� he added.

Catch the 鈥淓.T.鈥� cine-concert Saturday, Nov. 30, at 4 p.m. or Sunday, Dec. 1, at 2 p.m. at the 蜜柚直播 Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave.

Tickets are $31 to $87, half-price for children under 18, through .