This is an excerpt from a feature story printed in the Fall/Winter 2024 issue of Harker Magazine. Read the full story in the digital version of the magazine on Harker’s issuu page, and watch for the print version to arrive during the winter break.

Since 2010, the Harker Concert Series has showcased a wide variety of world-class artists, providing music lovers in the Harker community and the South Bay with unique opportunities to see and meet performers they might otherwise only be able to see at farther-away venues or festivals. Now in its 15th season, the series also has offered unique value to students, granting them access to some of the world’s greatest musicians, be they widely celebrated veterans or up-and-coming acts.

Always looking for ways to engage with the wider community, administrators launched the Harker Speaker Series in 2008 with the help of then-Harker parents John and Helena Jerney. Instrumental music teacher David Hart later approached Pam Dickinson, director of Harker’s Office of Communication, with the idea of inviting top professional musicians to conduct master classes with Harker students. “Dr. Hart and I brainstormed on his idea of bringing professional musicians in for master classes for the kids and the concert idea just organically flourished from there,” Dickinson recalled.

Chris Nikoloff, the head of school at the time, liked the idea, and the first season kicked off during the 2010-11 school year. Using the connections gained from his experience as a professional musician and his education at the Eastman School of Music, Hart assembled a lineup of top artists, opening the inaugural season with a dazzling performance by his friend, Grammy-winning jazz piano prodigy Taylor Eigsti. Since then, the Harker Concert Series has showcased performers from across the wide expanse of classical and jazz, including violinist Frank Almond (who performed with the Lipinski Stradivarius, constructed in 1715), Canadian singer and songwriter Laila Biali and the renowned PROJECT Trio.

Hart has continued to seek artists for the program, alongside current series artistic director Jaco Wong, who arranged last year’s appearances by the San Jose Chamber Orchestra and the Aaron Lington Organ Quartet. In addition to their ability to deliver a captivating performance, artists are also sought out based on their enthusiasm for educating young musicians. “My passion is in education and finding artists that would also have those passions,” Hart said. “I wanted to make sure they would work with our students at high levels, so it’s always been a goal since the beginning.”