Meet Our Family
Music Director
Morihiko Nakahara, Music Director
A native of Kagoshima, Japan, Morihiko Nakahara has served as Music Director of the South Carolina Philharmonic since 2008. Nakahara remains active as a guest conductor during the 2025-2026 season, including conducting multiple programs with symphonies of Virginia, Spokane, and Portland (Maine), as well as appearing with the Ningbo Symphony Orchestra (China), Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra, and the Festival at Sandpoint Orchestra. In addition, he holds conducting and teaching residencies at the Central Conservatory of Music (China) and the University of South Carolina. Recent guest conducting engagements include appearances with the Florida Orchestra, Rhode Island Philharmonic, symphonies of Wuxi (China), Charleston, Fairfax, Long Beach, Ann Arbor, Guanxi (China), and Quancheng (China), as well as with the China Youth Symphony at the Central Conservatory of Music and the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra.
Equally at home in a wide variety of musical styles and concert formats, Nakahara has recently collaborated with Béla Fleck, Abigail Washburn, Gregory Alan Isakov, Pink Martini, and Cody Fry. A personable ambassador for the power of symphonic music in every community, he is also known for leading concerts synchronizing live orchestral soundtrack with film including the Star Wars Episodes IV-VI, Jurassic Park, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, How to Train Your Dragon, and Psycho, to name a few.
Known for his charismatic presence on and off the podium, innovative and audience-friendly programming skills, and thoughtful interpretations of both standard and contemporary repertoire, Nakahara holds degrees from Andrews University and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He previously served as Resident Conductor of the Spokane Symphony Orchestra, Associate Conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Holland Symphony Orchestra (Michigan), and served on the faculty at University of Massachusetts Amherst, Eastern Washington University, and Andrews University.
Stay in touch with Nakahara via Twitter and Instagram.