This article originally appeared in the summer 2015 Harker Quarterly.
Middle and Upper School Students Orchestrate Pitch Perfect Concert
By Jared Scott Tesler
The Grade 6 Orchestra and Grades 7-8 Orchestra, conducted by David Hart, and The Harker School Orchestra, conducted by Christopher Florio, joined forces once again for their annual spring concert, held at San Jose’s Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater. Amid a symphony of classical arrangements composed by Brahms, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky and others, more easily recognizable numbers included the theme songs from “James Bond” and “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Senior violinist Helen Wu, who recently earned a spot on the National Youth Orchestra for the second year in a row, performed the Allegro from Samuel Barber’s “Concerto for Violin and Orchestra.”
The event featured numerous members of the Class of 2015, in the final ensemble performance of their Harker performing arts careers: violinists Thyne Boonmark, Eugene Gil (assistant concertmaster), Vivian Jou, Leeza Kuo, Briana Liang, Sahana Rangarajan (co-principal), Sophia Shatas and Helen Wu (concertmaster); violists Lekha Chirala (co-assistant principal), Austin Lai (principal) and Patrick Lin; cellists Matthew Huang (principal), Julia Wang and Madelyn Wang; bassists Jackelyn Shen and Kelly Wang (assistant principal); oboists Jason Jeong (co-principal) and Allison Kiang (assistant principal); clarinetists Harry Xu and Eric Yu (principal second); clarinetist and percussionist Angeline Pan; bassoonists Rahul Balakrishnan (assistant principal) and Kailas Vodrahalli (principal); horn player Vishal Vaidya (principal); and tubist Madhavan Nair (principal). Congratulations on a job well done!
Kindergartners Take Aesop’s ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’ to the Stage
By Jared Scott Tesler
This spring, the Bucknall Gym was alive with the sound of music – and laughter. In their stage acting debut, Harker kindergartners from each homeroom unleashed their inner animals during six performances of “A Race to the Finish,” a witty and whimsical mini-musical based on Aesop’s most popular fable, “The Tortoise and the Hare,” proving once and for all that “slow and steady wins the race.” Some multitalented actors also did a bit of dancing!
Along with the slow-moving tortoise and foolishly overconfident hare, the all-animal cast of characters ran the gamut of individual strengths and sizes: bear, beaver, blue jay, bobcat, bunny, cardinal, chipmunk, coyote, deer, duck, elk, fox, mare, moose, mountain lion, owl (portrayed by kindergarten teacher Michelle Anderson), porcupine, raccoon, squirrel, turkey and woodchuck. K-3 music teacher Carena Montany served as director, with stage crew duties carried out by members of technical director Danny Dunn’s grade 5 Technical Theater class.
Harker Celebrates 10th Anniversary of Dance Jamz
By Jared Scott Tesler
Inspired choreography, dazzling costumes, dynamic dance styles and eclectic music took center stage at Dance Jamz 2015, now in its 10th year. The annual middle school dance show, held in mid-March at the Blackford Theater and directed by lower school performing arts lead teacher Gail Palmer, featured 150 boys and girls in grades 6, 7 and 8, who danced their way into the hearts of family, friends and Harker community members.
Set to music from yesterday’s and today’s top talent, including Paula Abdul, Earth, Wind & Fire, Michael Jackson, Maroon 5, Britney Spears and Stevie Ray Vaughan, 18 action-packed dance routines provided something for everyone, captivating the audience of children, teens, adults and seniors. Capping off the show, the entire cast performed to house and dance-pop group Deee-Lite’s best-known single, “Groove Is in the Heart,” which opens with a fitting lyric: “We’re going to dance and have some fun.” Mission accomplished!
Evening of Jazz Gets Toes Tapping
By Jared Scott Tesler
Middle and upper school jazz musicians specializing in a wide array of brass, percussion, string and woodwind instruments, conducted by David Hart and Christopher Florio, congregated in late March at the Blackford Theater for “An Evening of Jazz.” Rounding out the production staff were production manager Brian Larsen and technical director Paul Vallerga.
The students’ love of all things jazz was heard loud and clear as they paid tribute to many late, great composers, musicians and pianists – Jimmy Forrest (“Night Train”), George Gershwin (“Cuban Overture”), Antônio Carlos Jobim (“Chega de Saudade”/“No More Blues”), Charles Mingus (“Better Get It in Your Soul”), Ástor Piazzolla (“Libertango”), Horace Silver (various) and Fred Sturm (various). A good time was had by all at this year’s toe-tapping, finger-snapping concert, which spotlighted the following graduating seniors: saxophonists Alan Guo, Rishabh Jain and Daniela Lee; trombonists Juhi Gupta, Nikhil Singh and Kevin Zhang; drummer Gillian Wallin; and cellist and vocalist Julia Wang.
Cellists Thrive at Harker
By Jared Scott Tesler
Brava to cellist Angeline Kiang, grade 5, on her first-place finish in this year’s United States International Music Competition! Kiang’s talent, diligence and appreciation of cross-cultural music earned her a cash prize, a trophy, a certificate of recognition and a possible radio show interview.
As a cellist in the lower school orchestra, Kiang has received guidance and support from Louis Hoffman, who oversees the after-school instrumental program. “She has been a wonderful student, inspired her fellow musicians, been an active part of our program and a true example of a student who both loves to play and is willing to put in the hard work and time it takes to achieve excellence on a musical instrument,” Hoffman said. “I’m incredibly honored and blessed to have been one of her teachers.”
The middle school boasts its own star cellist, Rachel Broweleit, grade 7. Broweleit’s interest in orchestral music began to surface at The Harker School at the age of 6. Broweleit joined the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra (PACO), an award-winning youth orchestra for regional string musicians of high school age and younger. Now in her second year as co-principal cellist in PACO’s Sinfonia ensemble, she is also part of California Music Preparatory Academy’s chamber music program.
At just 13 years of age, Broweleit already has won several major international competitions, including first place at both the American Fine Arts Festival and the American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition, and was named the grand-prize winner at this year’s United States Open Music Competition.
Broweleit says her early success is due in large part to her educational experience and the dedicated, caring faculty. “Dr. [David] Hart [middle school orchestra director] has been a great encouragement, providing a really exciting atmosphere and creating opportunities for me and my classmates to explore our interests in music,” she said.
Read full stories on both these talented cellists at news.harker.org. Just search for their last names or use these shortlinks: http://news.harker. org/?p=26002 (Kiang) and https://news.harker.org/?p=25890 (Broweleit).
Musical Adaptation of ‘The Ugly Duckling’ Entertains, Teaches Acceptance
By Jared Scott Tesler
Ugly duckling or majestic swan? Come to find out, beauty – and ugliness – is in the eye of the beholder.
Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen’s literary fairy tale “The Ugly Duckling” recently underwent a book-to-musical makeover at the Blackford Theater. Under the direction of performing arts teacher Monica Colletti, Harker’s seventh and eighth graders presented composer George Stiles and lyricist Anthony Drewe’s “Honk! Jr.,” a musical adaptation of the classic children’s story created for younger audiences.
The plot and musical numbers served as more than just entertainment – they imparted many important life lessons such as self-discovery, tolerance and acceptance. Perfect timing, as our middle school students begin to unlock their full potential and form friendships that will last a lifetime.
Conservatory Class of 2015 Gives Stunning Final Performance at Certificate Program Graduation
By Catherine Snider
For a small group of students in the Class of 2015, Harker’s commencement exercises were their second graduation in as many days. Twenty-nine Harker Conservatory certificate students changed their status from candidates to graduates at the 14th annual Senior Showcase on May 22, held at the beautiful Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater in San Jose.
These artists completed a four-year guided course through the upper school performing arts department – the Conservatory – mentored by teachers in all the disciplines, with particular emphasis in one: vocal music, instrumental music, dance, theater, musical theater or technical theater. Senior Showcase is a culmination of those years of study, with the seniors providing guests in the packed theater with snapshots from their accumulated portfolios.
The evening ended with the formal presentation of their certificates by the performing arts faculty and a final group bow, greeted with a well-deserved standing ovation by the many friends, family members, teachers and administrators who supported them on their journey through the program.
Eclectic Lower School Spring Concert Delights Audiences of All Ages
By Jared Scott Tesler
This year’s lower school spring concert featured a jam-packed program of performances by the Bucknall Choir, Lower School Orchestra, Chamber Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, First Year Violin Group, First Year Cello Group, Preparatory String Ensemble, Guitar Group and String Ensemble. Audience members were doubly entertained by grade 5 soloists Samuel Boucher (alto saxophone) and United States International Music Competition first-place winner Angeline Kiang (cello). See page 21 for more on Harker cellists.
Time-honored tunes, ranging from popular nursery rhymes and lullabies to classical pieces by Bach, Liszt, Pachelbel and Sibelius, filled the theater. Even the Grammy Award- and Academy Award-nominated song “Everything Is Awesome” from “The Lego Movie” was tossed in for good measure. With so many genres of music, the concert offered something for everyone to enjoy!
Classic Fairy Tale Characters Venture ‘Into the Woods’ in Spring Musical
By Zach Jones
A who’s-who of iconic fairy tale characters got much more than they wished for at this year’s Harker Conservatory spring musical, a raucous production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s “Into the Woods,” which played at the Blackford Theater April 16-17 and will travel to Scotland in August to play at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Noted for its thematic and musical depth, “Into the Woods” intertwines the stories of Cinderella, Jack, Little Red Riding Hood and other popular fairy tale characters who all have wishes they want fulfilled. At the center of the story are a baker and his wife, who wish to have a child but are stymied by a curse put upon the baker’s house by a witch. The through-sung musical, directed by Laura Lang-Ree, featured inspired performances from its cast, who brought out the surprising complexity of characters known mostly for their simple and moralistic stories.
‘Into the Woods’ Honored with Nominations
The Rita Moreno California High School Musical Honors results are in and although we didn’t win, the finalists in all categories were awesome and had a great adjudication experience and final performance on stage. “The entire cast really killed it during their performance,” noted show director Laura Lang-Ree. “Rita Moreno, for whom the competition is named, gave out the awards and took pictures with leading actor and actress finalists – including our kids, Jeton [Gutierrez-Bujari ’15] and Madi [Lang-Ree ’15].”
Harker had finalists in the following categories:
- Best Show
- Outstanding Lead Actor: Jeton Gutierrez-Bujari, grade 12 (Baker)
- Outstanding Lead Actress: Madi Lang-Ree, grade 12 (Baker’s Wife)
- Outstanding Supporting Actor: Emre Ezer, grade 10 (Wolf)
- Outstanding Supporting Actress: Helen Woodruff, grade 11 (Rapunzel)
Kudos were given by organizers for the number of schools that were adjudicated from San Luis Obispo to Marin and they also noted how just being there as a finalist was a victory. “Very fun and a great learning experience,” Lang-Ree added. “Our students got to see a lot performing at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, met tons of people and collaborated like crazy!”
Diversity Takes the Lead at Annual Upper School Chorus Concert
By Jared Scott Tesler
In late April, Harker’s upper school performing arts department presented “In Concert: Pastiche,” featuring the vocal stylings of introductory choir Bel Canto, intermediate chamber ensemble Camerata, women’s chamber ensemble Cantilena, show choir Downbeat and men’s contemporary a cappella ensemble Guys’ Gig. Well-known songs like “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen, “Imagine” by John Lennon and “Lullaby (Goodnight, My Angel)” by Billy Joel wove their way between songs in other languages, including German, Hindi, Latin and Spanish.
Student conductors, a trio of sopranos, a trumpeter, pianists and many members of the Class of 2015 accompanied the vocal groups. It all came together beautifully (the name of the concert, Pastiche, is defined as eclecticism in art) thanks to the vision, hard work, determination and dedication of each and every performer and seasoned directors Laura Lang-Ree, Susan Nace and Jennifer Sandusky.
Lower School’s ‘Dancing at Disneyland’ Delights the Young and Young at Heart
By Jared Scott Tesler
Gail Palmer, lower school performing arts lead teacher, dubbed this year’s lower school dance concert “The Happiest Dance Show on Earth” – and anyone in attendance at “Dancing at Disneyland” would be hard-pressed to disagree! For some audience members, the enchanted evening in late May provided a monumental trip down memory lane; for others, it was every bit as magical as a visit to their all-time favorite theme park.
Under the direction of Palmer, with assistance provided by Kimberly Teodoro and Jessalyn Espiritu, the concert featured 250 students in grades 1-5 dancing around a wonderland of fanciful props, sets and slides. Each performance was cleverly assigned the name of a popular Disneyland attraction, parade, ride, shop or show, with 11 of 29 lively numbers choreographed by Palmer herself, including the opening and closing routines set to the Academy Award-winning song “When You Wish Upon a Star” from the animated musical fantasy film “Pinocchio” and “Happy” by singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer and fashion designer Pharrell Williams.