In mid-January, The Harker School had its 2012 Winter Concert at the Mexican Heritage Theater in San Jose. The show featured the middle school orchestras and jazz band for the first part of the evening, with the upper school orchestra and jazz band following right after. They were conducted by David Hart, middle school instrumental teacher, and Christopher Florio, upper school instrumental teacher.

The evening began with the Harker Winds, who played “Green Sleeves” and “Auld Lang Syne.” They were followed by the strings, who played “Canon,” and holiday favorite, “Joy to the World.” From there the grade 6 orchestra took the stage, for a performance that included a lively rendition of “The Can-Can,” and they were followed by the chamber ensemble performances. Then it was grades 7 and 8 turn to shine, which they certainly did through various jazz band pieces as well as through the orchestra’s three selections, which included an English folk song suite.

The upper school started off their portion of the evening with their jazz band, which played popular songs such as “Straighten Up and Fly Right.” After a short intermission, the upper school orchestra took the stage. They played four pieces, starting off with “Overture to ‘Candide’” and concluded the evening of performances with “Overture to ‘William Tell.’”