Maestro Series: A Conversation with Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Musician, Conductor, Educator

Miguel Harth-Bedoya was born in Lima, Peru. He studied at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and later attended New York’s Juilliard School where his teachers included Otto-Werner Mueller.

His other conducting teachers have included Gustav Meier and Seiji Ozawa In 1996, Harth-Bedoya became music director of the Eugene (Oregon) Symphony and held this post until 2002. In 1998, he became associate conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, appointed by Esa-Pekka Salonen. From 2000 to 2020, Harth-Bedoya was Music Director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra .

Outside of the USA, Harth-Bedoya was music director of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra from 2000 to 2005. In 2007, he established the multimedia Caminos del Inka project for promotion of music from South America, including the orchestral works of several South American composers, such as Osvaldo Golijov, Enrique Iturriaga, Celso Garrido Lecca, Esteban Benzecry, and Jimmy Lopez. In February 2012, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra announced the appointment of Harth-Bedoya as its 7th principal conductor, effective with the 2013-2014 season and concluding at the close of the 2019-2020 season. He recently joined the faculty of the School of Music, University of Nebraska Omaha as Director of Orchestral Studies. 01:00 Background 01:51- The Turning Point 02:10- Going to “The Other Side” 05:06- Did you play an instrument? 05:58- Graduate Training 07:42- New Zealand and Los Angeles 08:00- Fort Worth 08:25- Norwegian Radio Symphony 08:37- Chief Conductor vs. Music Director 08:54- Auckland and Eugene 10:38- Auckland as a place to experiment. 11:39- Norway repertoire 14:47- Duties in Norway and its Bicentennial 17:31- Programming composers in the US 18:49- Ramifications of not programming new composers 19:54- Are there composers who should be played less? 20:51: Are there contemporary composers you particularly admire? 22:03- What do you think concert halls will be like in 10 years? 25:06- Community focus 26:32- University of Nebraska Omaha 30:24- What is the goal for a student at the end of 4 years? 34:30- Are there conductors you particularly admire? 36:36- Final thoughts 37:27- On returning to being a Music Director Edited with Vegas Pro 18 Thanks to AMC's supporters: www.Patreon.com/AtlantaMusicCritic