Last week, Harker received a visit from the Emerald Brass Quintet. Formed in 2006 at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., this group of performers and educators has given master classes at universities across the country and has performed overseas in countries including Thailand and Germany.

Their first stop at Harker was music teacher Dave Hart’s classroom, where the quintet – in which Hart’s wife, Leslie, plays French horn – accompanied students in their renditions of “Amazing Grace” and “Can Can,” while offering advice on how to improve their performance techniques. At lunchtime, the quintet performed for middle school students and faculty.

Later, the musicians visited to the upper school, where they performed a series of works and took questions from students. Two grade 12 brass players, Jack Farnham and Melinda Wisdom, had the pleasure of performing pieces for the quintet, who offered the students advice on preparing for college auditions.