From “Bach to Brazil” Manitou Music Festival resonates through Dunes

By Jacob R. Wheeler
Sun editor
Now entering its 13th season, the Manitou Music Festival will once again play matchmaker for an unlikely trio of acts that seeks harmony despite their differences in style. The Manitou Festival Orchestra, led by conductor Mathew Hazelwood, the eclectic Neptune Quartet, and soloists from Interlochen Arts Academy will team up on Sunday, July 13 at 7 p.m., for a free concert at the Dune Climb in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore to deliver a musical extravaganza that will vary from Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto no. 4 to a piece for the marimba composed by the Brazilian Rosauro.

The show-stopper, according to festival director Crispin Campbell, may be Chihiro Shibayama, a vibrant Japanese percussionist who just graduated from Interlochen and will bring a little Brazilian rhythm to Glen Arbor when her marimba resonates though the hot summer air. The Tokyo native will attend the prestigious Julliard School of Music in New York City in the fall. “She’s a stunning, dynamic performer,” says Campbell, who predicts that Shibayama may perform a solo piece in addition to her collaboration with the orchestra.
“The audience will be wowed by the warm, intimate sound of the marimba,” Hazelwood, the orchestra’s conductor, promised. The marimba, traditionally a Central American instrument, looks like a large xylophone. “For the Brazilian dance piece, the percussionist has to use 4 mallets – 2 in each hand, so the audience will be amazed both visually and auditorily.
“We’re performing Bach’s Brandenburg concerto because it has great rhythmic vitality,” said Campbell, who doesn’t rule out the possibility of the Dune Climb crowd marching down M-109, all the way to Rio de Janeiro in their rhythm-induced nirvana. “This concert is all about the relationship between serious music and popular music, to the point where they rub shoulders. It’s about rhythm.”
Hazelwood suggested this program. He is also the conductor of the Interlochen Art’s Academy Orchestra and former music director of the Battle Creek Symphony. Just as important for this gig, perhaps, Hazelwood lived in Columbia for nine years and played percussion with the Bogota Symphony Orchestra. So he knows hot-blooded Latin American music well.
Campbell’s own group, the Neptune Quartet, fits into this eclectic mix because they have also delved into Latin music lately. The crossover group, which also features Don Julin, Angelo Meli and Glenn Wolff, refuses to be labeled under one musical persona. The Neptune Quartet is influenced by jazz, Latin, folk as well as classical. “We call it Americana,” said Campbell, who brings the quartet back after it was received warmly at last year’s festival.
This festival may be a bittersweet one for Campbell, the founder of the Manitou Music Festival, who will step down as its director after this summer. “This festival has been a huge part of my life and I retain a lot of great memories,” he said. “But I need more time to pursue some of my own projects – to practice, take the Neptune Quartet to the next level, and travel with my wife Carol.
“Change is a good thing, and it’s time for someone else to give it energy.”
This is the fifth time a Manitou Music Festival concert will unfold at the Dune Climb, courtesy of a successful collaboration between the National Park Service and the Glen Arbor Art Association. The Park service seeks “creative partnerships” like this one in which it makes its land available to non-profit groups that foster educational opportunities within the community. This concert is also a gift from the Art Association, which foots the bill for the performers. The music is essentially free and open to the public, except for $7 the Park charges per vehicle parked at the Dune Climb.