Dec. 16, 2011: The Harker upper school orchestra has been rigorously preparing for their fast-approaching trip to London. See the slideshow above for photos of the students and music teacher Chris Florio in practice!

The coming New Year festivities will be a very special time for the Harker Orchestra, who will perform in London during the city’s New Year celebrations. Lady Catherine Longworth, former Mayor of Westminster, and Bob Bone, executive director of London’s New Years Day parade, visited Harker’s upper school campus in October of last year to personally invite the orchestra to perform. The orchestra will will fly to London the day after Christmas along with director Chris Florio, upper school music teacher, and spend the next few days touring the city, visiting such landmarks as the Tower of London, Windsor Castle and Stratford-upon-Avon, birthplace and home of William Shakespeare.

Florio will direct the orchestra’s performances at London’s Cadogan Hall on Dec. 29 and Dec. 31 as part of the “Music for London” concert series. Their performances will be among the several Festival Concerts that make up the first events of London’s 2012 Cultural Olympiad. On New Year’s Day, the orchestra will participate in the London New Year’s Day Parade, carrying the flags of the countries competing in the 2012 summer Olympic Games, for which London is the host city. The parade also marks the beginning of both Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee and London’s Olympic year.

Live streams of the orchestra’s performances will be available at the Cadogan Hall website. Viewers will be able to watch on Dec. 29th at 11:30 a.m., pacific standard time, and on Jan. 1 at 9 a.m., pacific standard time.

The London New Year’s Day Parade will also be live streamed at the parade’s official website. It will start at 12 a.m. on Jan. 1.