Lisa interviews Leo Eguchi on his life as a performer and his upcoming solo show with 45^th Parallel, UNACCOMPANIED, on May 23rd at the Madeleine Church.

Lisa: This program you’ve been developing stems from the concept of identity through music and as a compositional element. In finding what American-ness sounds like through these pieces, were there any surprises?

Leo: Yes. I would say first off, for a long time I grappled with the question “how do I phrase the question as efficiently as possible to get the most meaningful kernel of truth in each answer?” I knew the question that I posed to the composers, “what does your American-ness sound like?” had a clumsiness to the question, but it seemed like the best way to open the catalyst to a larger conversation. Many composers took me to task on the question. James Diaz pushed back on the concept of American-ness. He wanted to make the point that America is not the United States, it is actually two whole continents of people, pointing out the blind spot of using the word this way. His video and piece in the concert address and deal with different meanings and dualities. In his piece, at every moment, there are two pieces contrasting and running in parallel. I have to choose at each measure which line to play, and whichever I do not play does not exist for the day and the audience never gets to know it.

Earl Maneein is of South Asian and Chinese descent. He pushed back on what we might be looking for within that identity. When we talked, he pointed out that he’s shaped by the experiences he’s had and his parents have had. He wanted to push back on the idea that there is an immigrant experience, and another experience. The concept he wanted to point out is that we all have experiences that shape who we are. At some point he said “I took your question seriously and I wrote the piece. After the piece was finished, I realized I would’ve written you the piece regardless of the question, because I’m still the same damn person with or without this question.”

Some of the composers wrote pieces based on a concept that I had been chewing on, namely “what was left behind in a home country? What was gained by moving to a new country with new experiences?”

Shaw Pong Liu, who is Taiwanese-American, had just had her first baby when I asked her about these concepts and the question of American-ness. For her, it became a question of the way her feelings were expressed in society. The piece became about rage, hope, and gun violence. It’s moving and incredible.

Lisa: How many solo shows have you pursued in your career thus far?

Leo: I have always enjoyed playing a purely solo concert! Going back to my school days, it’s how I did my recitals for graduate school. In terms of a professional endeavor, a one man show where I’m really the only one on stage, this show has been unique for me. It doesn’t feel like I’m alone on stage because of the relationships with the composers and the pieces. I almost feel sort of like a prop in a way even though I’m the one performing.

One thing that has been really fascinating to me about bringing the show around to different places, which had been a hope when launching this concert, is that it wouldn’t just be a concert, it would be the beginning of a conversation. We’ve had the concert presented at universities with talkbacks, with Q&A’s in neighborhoods community centers with a high density of immigrants, and it’s been presented in the northeast and southwest. Every single person has been touched by immigration in some way. Even if you’re a native, it has affected or has touched your life. But we all sort of live in our own bubble in some way, with what it means to us in where we live and exist. It’s been interesting to be a part of the conversation from a lot of different perspectives depending on where people are coming from.

Lisa: Have you learned anything from these community dialogues after the program?

Leo: I would say what it has done and continues to do for me is to shine a light on what’s at the heart of what I want from these conversations. For me, that’s to make sure that we as a society grapple with policy issues, legislation issues, and cultural issues around immigration. They are all real issues which need to be worked out and talked about. We all lose if we don’t recognize and understand that around these policies and legislation there are real people and individuals at the center. These are people with families and lives and they are at the center of how policies affect society and community.

Lisa: You’re also a conductor. I don’t want to ask which type of musicianship you’re more passionate about, but I do want to ask how you feel this impacts your playing, and if you find it hard to switch between playing and conducting.

Leo: I frequently don’t even tell people that I do some conducting, in no small part because musicians don’t usually like conductors. My life as a performer is certainly centered around being a cellist. I do greatly welcome the challenge of conducting, and the sort of responsibility for the big picture. Making music as a conductor involves a perspective and a scope that is wonderful and humbling as well as providing a lot of insight. I became a musician because I love playing the cello.

As a musician, I’ve always had the attitude that if doors open to you, even ones you don’t expect, it's worth your time to go through them. Some conducting opportunities came my way, and it’s been an interesting side journey.

Lisa: You’ve been roughly performing as a cellist for how many years?

Leo: I’ve been roughly performing professionally since I was in college, so maybe 27 years.

Lisa: How long have you been conducting?

Leo: A few years, maybe five years. It’s an area that affords a lot of personal growth.

Make sure to attend UNACCOMPANIED with cellist Leo Eguchi for more dialogue, music, and sharing of ideas, on May 23rd, at The Old Madeleine Church in NE Portland, at 7PM.

Lisa Lipton
Executive Director, 45^th Parallel Universe