May 242, 2019
It is with deep sadness that we note that Sandip Nirmel ’17 passed away May 23, 2019, with his parents at his side, after an extended illness while at Harvard University. He was a computer science student exploring artificial intelligence, finance and entrepreneurship.
Nirmel attended The Harker School starting in grade 6 in 2010. He was class president in grades 9, 10 and 11, and associated student body president in his senior year. Nirmel was secretary-general of the Model United Nations Program, a member of the research program, a member of the congressional debate team, a four-year member of the varsity boys golf team and a member of the Challenge Success team. He was also a member of the DECA chapter at Harker. As a class agent for the Class of 2017, his commitment to Harker was ongoing.
Following Harker, he attended Harvard University where he studied computer science with a focus on mind, brain and behavior. He would have graduated in 2021. While at Harvard, he was a case team leader at Harvard College Consulting Group, senior investment research analyst at Harvard Financial Analysts Club and vice chair of the Harvard Society for Mind, Brain and Behavior.
Prior to starting at Harvard, Nirmel interned at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, where he helped develop an artificial intelligence solution to automatically segment histological imaging data. He also worked in the Ocean Biogeochemistry Lab of the Stanford School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, where he took a data-driven approach to identifying drivers of sinking behavior of Antarctic phytoplankton and ice algae.
A man of many interests, Nirmel noted on his LinkedIn page, “I am an ambitious, fast-paced CS undergraduate at Harvard. I take on the toughest challenges and overcome them with a smile on my face. I live by a simple motto: ‘Why not?’”
He lived his motto. Nirmel volunteered with the organization Youth on Course, founding its volunteer program and a small grants program. He attended and spoke at fundraisers for the group. He was on the organization’s leadership council for four years, serving as president for 18 months before graduation. For his dedication and hard work, he was given The First Tee/Youth on Course Sandy Tatum Leadership Award.
Nirmel earned numerous honors and awards, including being named a Forbes 30 Under 30 Scholar, National Merit scholar, Regeneron Science Talent Search Top 300 scholar and Siemens Competition semifinalist. He also earned a rare perfect score on the AP Microeconomics in his senior year.
Nirmel spoke Chinese and Spanish, along with English.
He was published as well. His papers include “Distribution of Phaeocystis Antarctica-Dominated Sea Ice Algal Communities and Their Potential to Seed Phytoplankton Across the West Antarctic Peninsula in Spring”; “Geoengineering: Turning Back the Climate Change Clock?”; and “Carbon Sinks in a Changing Climate: Relative Buoyancy and Sinking Potentials of Various Antarctic Phytoplankton and Ice Algae.”
Nirmel was also a musician of note, having passed the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music’s examinations for grade 5 music theory, grade 8 piano and grade 8 violin.
Jennifer Gargano, Harker’s assistant head of school for academic affairs, noted Nirmel was “one of the nicest and most mature students that have gone through our halls. He was one of our Challenge Success student representatives who worked with our committee to make some important changes in the areas of balance and wellness.”
Our deepest sympathies to the family, classmates and friends of this wonderful young man. Private memorial services were held in Massachusetts.
A memorial service will be held in Nichols Auditorium at The Harker upper school, 500 Saratoga Avenue, San Jose, on Sat., June 22, 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.. Donations can be made to San Jose Animal Shelter’s “Guardian Angel Fund.” http://www.sanjoseca.gov/index.aspx?NID=2765
Send cards to Kristina Alaniz, Alumni Director, The Harker School, 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, CA 95129.
The Class of 2019’s final hours as Harker students were memorable ones, as Thursday’s graduation ceremony brought together families, friends and faculty to celebrate a major milestone in the seniors’ lives.
Cheers went up from the crowd at the Mountain Winery as the seniors arrived to take their seats during the processional to the familiar swell of Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance,” performed by the Harker Chamber Orchestra.
Following a performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by the 2019 Graduation Chorus and a welcome message from Upper Division Head Butch Keller, Kaushik Shivakumar ’19 took the podium to deliver the valedictorian speech to his fellow graduates. Shivakumar implored his classmates to use the intellectual curiosity they gained at Harker. “If there’s one thing we should take away from our high school years, it wouldn’t be what we’ve learned,” he said. “Instead, it would be the desire to learn more, which manifests itself as curiosity. In order to thrive within the world we find ourselves, we have to ask questions. Lots of them. And in particular, we must never ever hesitate to ask the question, ‘Why?'”
Shivakumar’s speech received enthusiastic applause and was followed by another performance from the 2019 Graduation Chorus, this time of “I Shall Pass This Way But Once,” written by conductor Susan Nace with lyrics by Etienne De Grellet.
The Hon. John B. Owens ’85 was this year’s keynote speaker. Owens’ said his memories of Harker have had a profound impact on him, as evidenced by the many teachers he remembered and thanked, including longtime math teacher Pat Walsh and the late beloved history teacher John Near. Owens noted that while many schools offer a good education, Harker set itself apart by also teaching him to be a good member of society. “What Harker taught me at the end of the day are things you don’t really learn in books,” he said. “[Harker] taught me how to be a good citizen.”
The 2019 Graduation Chorus then gave its final performance of the evening, singing “The Harker School Song,” before Head of School Brian Yager gave his farewell address.
Yager gave the audience a brief retelling of the journeys of Richard Henry Dana Jr., who in the 1800s explored the sparsely populated area that would later become known as California. Dana’s portrait of California was very different from the populous state known today, and with growth has come many problems waiting to be solved by the next generation. Like California, he said, Harker has also experienced massive changes in the 125 years since it was founded. “Its journey, like the journey of the state in which we live, has been a remarkable one,” he said. “It has also been one built on hope … the hope that our efforts to educate you will enable you to appreciate the world of yesterday, love the world of tomorrow, and that your fantasy will be to stand in a world 50, 60, 70 – maybe even 125 – years from now that is one you can say with pride and joy that you helped make happen.”
The graduates then received their diplomas one at a time as their loved ones cheered from the stands. Once all members of the class were seated, they symbolically moved their caps’ tassels from the right to the left and cheered loudly as they flung their caps into the air. The ceremony officially ended with the traditional releasing of doves, eliciting shouts of awe as the beautiful birds flew overhead.
On the eve of this year’s graduation exercises, juniors, seniors and senior parents gathered at the upper school quad for the annual baccalaureate ceremony, during which members of the Class of 2020 graciously accepted their responsibility as leaders in the coming 2019-20 school year. The audience was treated to performances by Cantilena and the The Harker String Orchestra before upper school math chair Anthony Silk, chosen by the Class of 2019 as this year’s faculty speaker, took the podium.
Silk shared some of the wisdom he learned from his father, whom he remembered as a voracious reader with a steel trap-like memory. From his father, Silk learned to become an enthusiastic learner, as well as the importance of not choosing a career based on income. He also told the seniors that not knowing what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives was no reason for panic, particularly in a rapidly changing world. “The path that brings you the most happiness may not have even been invented yet,” he said. “You may have to be the one to invent it.”
Upper Division Head Butch Keller introduced senior Haris Hosseini, this year’s student farewell speaker, whose humor-laced speech elicited many laughs from his peers. Hosseini recalled being named this year’s speaker three weeks prior. “So as I began writing it on the bus ride back from Laguna yesterday,” he quipped, “I was having a little bit of trouble. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to say.” He then related a story about how faced an immense fear looming over him as his senior year approached: how to secure 1.5 required PE credits in one year. The experience was valuable to him, as it gave him “a lot of time to reflect on my senior year here at Harker and what it meant to me,” which afforded a newfound appreciation for his time at the school.
Two of Harker’s performing arts alumni were named inaugural awardees of Harker’s Life in the Arts awards on Friday at the annual Senior Showcase, the celebration of those graduating with a Conservatory certificate along with their diploma. Gabrielle DeMers ’03 and D.J. Blickenstaff ’09 were honored for their commitment to their careers as performers as a group of family, friends, former teachers and administrators looked on.
DeMers was in the second high school graduating class at Harker and was part of the effort to create the Harker Conservatory. She had major roles in “Little Shop of Horrors” in 2001 and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 2002, and she remains the only Conservatory graduate to major in both vocal music and theater.
DeMers holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and a Master of Music in opera performance from the University of Maryland, College Park. As a member of the Maryland Opera Studio, she sang the title role of Sandrina in Mozart’s “La Finta Giardiniera” and Tatyana in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.” Read her full biography here. Watch her acceptance of the award here.
She had a few words of advice for those interested in a career in the arts. “I was flashing back to my Senior Showcase and if I could give myself advice at that age, the first thing would be to dream big,” said DeMers, “because it has to start with a vision, you have to envision what you want to do. The road to it may be full of twists and turns, and take you in an unexpected direction, but you have to envision it first.
“The second thing I would have told myself is, growth comes through failure. You will receive a lot of rejection and you will make some mistakes, but the most growth I ever experienced as an artist is by trying things that were huge, coming up a little short, then getting into the practice room and figuring out how to get better next time,” she said.
Blickenstaff shone in Harker productions of “Urinetown: The Musical” (Lockstock) in 2007, “Annie Get Your Gun” (Frank Butler) in 2008 and “The Music Man” (Harold Hill) in 2009. After graduating from Harker with a certificate from the Conservatory along with his diploma, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California and has appeared in a number of shows, including a reoccurring role in Netflix’ “Dear White People.” Read his full biography here.Watch him accepting the award here.
His advice for those interested in a career in the arts? “Trust yourself,” Blickenstaff said, “not just believe in yourself, but trust yourself and go out there and pursue it.”
And he added a few kind words for those who helped launch him. “Harker really truly is one of the driving forces behind me pursuing a life in the arts,” Blickenstaff said. “I would be nowhere in the arts without Harker and the amazing Harker family and the Harker faculty.”
Life in the Arts awardees are those alumni who have the character, talent, drive and determination to pursue their passion as their livelihood. Inductees come from the stage, screen, classroom, backstage and rehearsal halls. They are passionate about their art and create at the highest level within their domain.
“Life in the Arts inductees are not necessarily ‘stars’ in the performing arts like we think of on stage or screen,” said Lang-Ree. “We may come to recognize their names, and we may never see their names in lights, but they are living out their own dreams and that is what we honor.”
A permanent location to display annual winners is currently in progress and will be unveiled at next year’s presentation.
Two of Harker’s performing arts alumni were named inaugural awardees of Harker’s Life in the Arts awards on Friday at the annual Senior Showcase, the celebration of those graduating with a Conservatory certificate along with their diploma. Gabrielle DeMers ’03 and D.J. Blickenstaff ’09 were honored for their commitment to their careers as performers as a group of family, friends, former teachers and administrators looked on.
DeMers was in the second high school graduating class at Harker and was part of the effort to create the Harker Conservatory. She had major roles in “Little Shop of Horrors” in 2001 and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 2002, and she remains the only Conservatory graduate to major in both vocal music and theater.
DeMers holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and a Master of Music in opera performance from the University of Maryland, College Park. As a member of the Maryland Opera Studio, she sang the title role of Sandrina in Mozart’s “La Finta Giardiniera” and Tatyana in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.” Read her full biography here. Watch her acceptance of the award here.
She had a few words of advice for those interested in a career in the arts. “I was flashing back to my Senior Showcase and if I could give myself advice at that age, the first thing would be to dream big,” said DeMers, “because it has to start with a vision, you have to envision what you want to do. The road to it may be full of twists and turns, and take you in an unexpected direction, but you have to envision it first.
“The second thing I would have told myself is, growth comes through failure. You will receive a lot of rejection and you will make some mistakes, but the most growth I ever experienced as an artist is by trying things that were huge, coming up a little short, then getting into the practice room and figuring out how to get better next time,” she said.
Blickenstaff shone in Harker productions of “Urinetown: The Musical” (Lockstock) in 2007, “Annie Get Your Gun” (Frank Butler) in 2008 and “The Music Man” (Harold Hill) in 2009. After graduating from Harker with a certificate from the Conservatory along with his diploma, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California and has appeared in a number of shows, including a reoccurring role in Netflix’ “Dear White People.” Read his full biography here.Watch him accepting the award here.
His advice for those interested in a career in the arts? “Trust yourself,” Blickenstaff said, “not just believe in yourself, but trust yourself and go out there and pursue it.”
And he added a few kind words for those who helped launch him. “Harker really truly is one of the driving forces behind me pursuing a life in the arts,” Blickenstaff said. “I would be nowhere in the arts without Harker and the amazing Harker family and the Harker faculty.”
Life in the Arts awardees are those alumni who have the character, talent, drive and determination to pursue their passion as their livelihood. Inductees come from the stage, screen, classroom, backstage and rehearsal halls. They are passionate about their art and create at the highest level within their domain.
“Life in the Arts inductees are not necessarily ‘stars’ in the performing arts like we think of on stage or screen,” said Lang-Ree. “We may come to recognize their names, and we may never see their names in lights, but they are living out their own dreams and that is what we honor.”
A permanent location to display annual winners is currently in progress and will be unveiled at next year’s presentation.
Two of Harker’s performing arts alumni were named inaugural awardees of Harker’s Life in the Arts awards on Friday at the annual Senior Showcase, the celebration of those graduating with a Conservatory certificate along with their diploma. Gabrielle DeMers ’03 and D.J. Blickenstaff ’09 were honored for their commitment to their careers as performers as a group of family, friends, former teachers and administrators looked on.
DeMers was in the second high school graduating class at Harker and was part of the effort to create the Harker Conservatory. She had major roles in “Little Shop of Horrors” in 2001 and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 2002, and she remains the only Conservatory graduate to major in both vocal music and theater.
DeMers holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and a Master of Music in opera performance from the University of Maryland, College Park. As a member of the Maryland Opera Studio, she sang the title role of Sandrina in Mozart’s “La Finta Giardiniera” and Tatyana in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.” Read her full biography here. Watch her acceptance of the award here.
She had a few words of advice for those interested in a career in the arts. “I was flashing back to my Senior Showcase and if I could give myself advice at that age, the first thing would be to dream big,” said DeMers, “because it has to start with a vision, you have to envision what you want to do. The road to it may be full of twists and turns, and take you in an unexpected direction, but you have to envision it first.
“The second thing I would have told myself is, growth comes through failure. You will receive a lot of rejection and you will make some mistakes, but the most growth I ever experienced as an artist is by trying things that were huge, coming up a little short, then getting into the practice room and figuring out how to get better next time,” she said.
Blickenstaff shone in Harker productions of “Urinetown: The Musical” (Lockstock) in 2007, “Annie Get Your Gun” (Frank Butler) in 2008 and “The Music Man” (Harold Hill) in 2009. After graduating from Harker with a certificate from the Conservatory along with his diploma, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California and has appeared in a number of shows, including a reoccurring role in Netflix’ “Dear White People.” Read his full biography here.Watch him accepting the award here.
His advice for those interested in a career in the arts? “Trust yourself,” Blickenstaff said, “not just believe in yourself, but trust yourself and go out there and pursue it.”
And he added a few kind words for those who helped launch him. “Harker really truly is one of the driving forces behind me pursuing a life in the arts,” Blickenstaff said. “I would be nowhere in the arts without Harker and the amazing Harker family and the Harker faculty.”
Life in the Arts awardees are those alumni who have the character, talent, drive and determination to pursue their passion as their livelihood. Inductees come from the stage, screen, classroom, backstage and rehearsal halls. They are passionate about their art and create at the highest level within their domain.
“Life in the Arts inductees are not necessarily ‘stars’ in the performing arts like we think of on stage or screen,” said Lang-Ree. “We may come to recognize their names, and we may never see their names in lights, but they are living out their own dreams and that is what we honor.”
A permanent location to display annual winners is currently in progress and will be unveiled at next year’s presentation.
Yesterday, parents of the Class of 2019 attended a pair of events to reflect on their years as Harker parents, share their most memorable moments and celebrate Harker’s impact on their children’s lives. At the annual Senior Moms Luncheon, mothers of this year’s graduates gathered at the upper school campus quad where they socialized and enjoyed delicious food. In the evening, the fathers of soon-to-be graduates enjoyed dinner at the Dads of Grads event at the auxiliary gym.
This tradition extends back to 2004, when it began as a potluck for senior mothers. Senior fathers were included starting in 2012, and in 2016 it was split into separate events. Parents of students in grades 9-11 plan and serve the meals, and the senior collages – made by the members of the graduating class to commemorate their time at Harker – are displayed so parents can reminisce.
Coming off its CCS D3 championship, the boys volleyball team soared through the first two rounds of the NorCal playoffs, defeating both Northgate and Bellarmine 3-0. That set up a finals matchup with league rival and No. 3 team in the nation Monta Vista. It was a grueling five-game match that ultimately went to the Matadors. The Eagles ended the season with a 34-6 record and a No. 4 ranking in the country.
Track and Field
Alexa Lowe, grade 9, was the lone Harker representative at the CCS Track and Field Championships last week. Lowe finished eighth in the triple jump with a leap of 34 feet 7 3/4 inches. Great job Alexa!
Boys Golf
The boys golf team finished in sixth place at the CCS finals last week. Bradley Lu, grade 12, led the way for the Eagles, shooting a 72 to end in a tie for seventh. Great job boys!
Boys Tennis
The doubles team of Mihir Sharma and Ramanand Vegesna, both grade 11, lost in their opening round CCS matchup with Carmel last Tuesday. Congrats on a great season!
VA (Grades 6-8) Gold Tennis: The varsity A gold tennis team, coached by John Fruttero and Mike Nguyen, finished in first place in the WBAL at 6-1 and second place in the MTP at 2-1. The team finished the MTP tournament in second place and had an overall season record of 9-3. Team awards went to Anthony Tong and Ryan Chang, both grade 8 (MVPs), Medini Halepete, grade 7, and Jeffrey Zhang, grade 6 (Eagle), and Jacob Huang, grade 8, and Audrey Feng, grade 6 (Coaches).
VA (Grades 6-8) Silver Tennis: The varsity A silver tennis team, coached by John Fruttero and Mike Nguyen, finished in seventh place in the WBAL with a record of 1-6. Team awards went to Yasmin Sudarsanam, grade 6, and Joe Li, grade 7 (MVPs), Brian Harder, grade 8, and Katilyn Su, grade 6 (Eagle), and Ramit Goyal, grade 7, and Misha Tkachenko, grade 6 (Coaches).
VA (Grades 7-8) Girls Volleyball: The varsity A team, coached by Theresa Smith and Stephanie Coleman, and assisted by high school volleyball players Katrina Liou, Srija Gadiraju, Lauren Beede, Emily Cheng and Anya Gert, finished in a two-way tie for second place in the WBAL with a record of 6-2 and went 6-3 overall. Team awards went to Vivian Bi, grade 8 (MVP), Rachel Ning and Allison Zhu, both grade 8 (Eagle), and Jessica Tang, grade 8 (Coaches).
VB (Grades 7-8) Girls Volleyball: The varsity B team, coached by Kurt Schwartz, finished in second place in the WBAL with a record of 6-2. Team awards went to Sonya He, grade 8, and Anjali Yella, grade 7 (MVPs), Kate Grannis, grade 7 (Eagle) and Ashley Ma, grade 8 (Coaches).
JVA (Grade 6) Girls Volleyball: The junior varsity A team, coached by Belle Carley, finished in second place in the WBAL with a record of 5-1. Team awards went to Stephanie Bossolina (MVP), Alison Yang (Eagle) and Angelina Burrows (Coaches).
JVB1 (Grade 5) Girls Volleyball: The junior varsity B1 team, coached by Ellie Pereira, finished in first place in the WBAL with a record of 6-0. Team awards went to Tanvi Sivakumar (MVP), Aline Grinspan (Eagle) and Delara Gholami (Coaches).
JVB2 (Grade 5) Girls Volleyball: The junior varsity B2 team, coached by Allie Pereira, finished in fourth place in the WBAL with a record of 2-4. Team awards went to Sophia Schafer-Wharton (MVP), Ava Bhowmik (Eagle) and Anika Rajaram (Coaches).
Intramural (Grade 4) Girls Volleyball: Team awards went to Riya Samuel (MVP), Divya Bhupathi(Eagle) and Finley Ho (Coaches). The team was coached by Emily Pereira and Kaitlyn Seawright.
VA (Grades 7-8) Baseball: The varsity A team, coached Jon Cvitanich, Richard Amarillas, Adam Albers and Marcus Anderson, finished in sixth placein the WBAL with a record of 2-5. Team awards went to Freddy Hoch, grade 8 (MVP), Nicholas Delfino, grade 8 (Eagle) and Daniel Lin, grade 7 (Coaches).
JVA (Grades 4-6) Baseball: The junior varsity A team, coached by Jon Cvitanich, Tim Hopkins, Brandon Carroll and Marcus Anderson, finished in fourth place in the WBAL with a record of 0-6. Team awards went to Zackary Delfino, grade 4 (MVP), Kylie Anderson, grade 6 (Eagle) and Nathan Wilcox, grade 6 (Coaches).
Intramural (Grades 4-5) Baseball: Team awards went to Spencer Mo and Ameera Ramzan, both grade 4, (Eagle) and Anirudh Subramanian, grade 4 (Coaches). The team was coached by Walid Fahmy and Tobias Wade.
VA (Grades 7-8) Boys Volleyball: The varsity A team, coached by Pete Anderson, finished in first place in the ADAL with a record of 8-0. The team went 10-0 overall. Team awards went to Tyler Beede, grade 8, and Adrian Liu, grade 7 (MVPs), Spencer Mak, grade 7 (Eagle) and Michael Sullivan, grade 8 (Coaches).
JVA (Grades 6-7) Boys Volleyball: The junior varsity A team, coached by Spring Wang and Sara Pawloski, finished in a tie for third place in the ADAL with a record of 5-3. Team awards went to Liam Jeffers, grade 6(MVP), Rayan Arya, grade 6 (Eagle) and Varun Bhupathi, grade 6 (Coaches).
VA (Grades 6-8) Boys Water Polo: The middle school boy’s water polo team, coached by Ted Ujifusa and Allie Lamb, finished with a 2-4 in the WBAL. Team awards went to Indigo Lee, grade 8,and Lachlan Rossi, grade 7 (MVPs), Robert Fields, grade 6 (Eagle) and Drake Piscione, grade 8 (Coaches).
VA (Grades 6-8) Girls Water Polo: The middle school girl’s water polo team, coached by Ted Ujifusa and Allie Lamb, finished 3-2 in the WBAL. Team awards went to Jasleen Hansra, grade 8, and Sydney Adler, grade 8 (MVPs), Chiling Han, grade 6 (Eagle) and Ria Kohli, grade 6 (Coaches).
MS (Grades 6-8) Golf: The middle school golf team, coached by Ie-Chen Cheng, took second place in the WBAL spring tournament held at the Moffet Field Golf Course. The team shot a 156 on the front nine. The top eight golfers were Freddy Hoch, grade 8 (36), Athreya Daniel, grade 8 (38), Allison Yang, grade 6 (39), Nika Gholami, grade 8, and Jack Yang, grade 7 (43), Yu Bai, grade 7 (44) and Emi Fujimura, grade 7 (47) and David Jang, grade 7 (51).
LS (Grades 4-5) Boys and Girls Track: The lower school track team, coached by Brighid Wood, Karriem Stinson, Colleen Campbell, Brittney Moseley, Hannah Grannis and Dini Wong, took second overall at the WBAL track meet.
First place finishers were:
David Kelly, grade 4 (100m)
Brandon Labio, grade 4 (400m)
MS (Grades 6-8) Boys and Girls Track: The middle school track team, coached by Brighid Wood, Karriem Stinson, Colleen Campbell, Brittney Moseley, Hannah Grannis and Dini Wong, took second overall at the WBAL track meet.
First place finishers were:
Chiling Han, grade 6 (200m, 400m, 800m)
Anjali Yella, grade 7 (50m, 100m, 200m, long jump)
Andrew Fu, grade 8 (long jump)
Rigo Gonzales, grade 8 (200m, 400m, 800m)
Rigo Gonzales, Andrew Fu, Zain Vakath and Armaan Thakker, all grade 8 (4 x 100 relay)
Soprano Gabrielle DeMers ’03 has forged for herself a career in operatic and concert singing. Her path has been clear since she graduated from Harker with a solid resume of performances including major roles in “Little Shop of Horrors” in spring 2001 and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in fall 2002. On May 17, 2019, DeMers, along with D.J. Blickenstaff ’09, was given Harker’s inaugural Life in the Arts award.
“It was hard to tell where Gabby was headed initially,” said Jeff Draper, theater teacher, “because she was so talented in so many areas. For my first fall play at Harker, I cast Gabby as Titania in ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ I knew that she would be fantastic as a fantasy goddess queen, filling the auxiliary gym with her performance, in the round in that huge space, and without a microphone. She has always carried that bearing that says ‘I can do this, I can hold your focus, and I am here to entertain you.’ She still brings that quality to her work today.”
DeMers was equally successful in Harker’s choral music program, performing with Downbeat. Her vocal music Conservatory advisor, Catherine Snider, noted that Gabby possessed “such an opera diva vibe when she was young, with her powerful voice and technique. And then, she’d surprise you and turn on a dime into the gum-chewing naïve New Yorker Audrey in ‘Little Shop of Horrors.’”
She remains the only Harker Conservatory Certificate graduate to major in both vocal music and theater.
DeMers holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music where she sang the female lead, Betty, in the West Coast premiere of Lowell Liebermann and J.D. McClatchy’s “Miss Lonelyhearts” and Nerone in Handel’s “Agrippina.” While at USC, she received the Opera Award and was inducted into the Order of Troy for her outstanding leadership in the music department.
She received her Master of Music in opera performance from the University of Maryland, College Park. As a member of the Maryland Opera Studio, she sang the title role of Sandrina in Mozart’s “La Finta Giardiniera” and Tatyana in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.”
DeMers has appeared in many productions since taking flight as a professional singer. She appeared regularly with Lyric Opera Baltimore where she made her role debut as Kate Pinkerton in “Madama Butterfly” under the baton of Steven White and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
With Opera AACC, DeMers sang Donna Elvira in “Don Giovanni” and Erste Dame in “Die Zauberflöte.” For her Mimi in “La Boheme” with HUBOpera, DC Metro Arts wrote that she was “sweetly demure as ingénue seamstress Mimi … ‘Donde Lieta’ … was heart-breaking and left most of the audience in tears.”
DeMers is a regular leading lady with The Young Victorian Theatre Company where she was Josephine in “H.M.S. Pinafore” (2017, 2013), Phyllis in “Iolanthe,” and Gianetta in “The Gondoliers,” where The Baltimore Sun singled her out as “a dynamo as Gianetta, with her bright, hearty soprano.”
She received the Sorcerer’s Cup award from Young Vic for her dedication to and leadership in the company and will be featured in their upcoming production of “From London To Baltimore: A Salute to Gilbert & Sullivan.”
DeMers is featured on EMI’s album “Universidad Navidena” as the soprano soloist in an orchestral arrangement of “Noche Sagrada.” Her concert work includes the soprano soloist in Schubert’s “Mass in G,” soprano 2 soloist in Mozart’s “Mass in c minor,” soprano soloist in Mozart’s “Vesperae solennes de confessore,” and Bachianas “Brasileiras No. 5” of Villa Lobos.
Recently, DeMers has performed twice at Harker: first, in February 2018, at the opening of the Rothschild Performing Arts Center and a year later at the Harker 125th Anniversary Gala.
DeMers can be heard in concerts and operas throughout the Baltimore/DC Metro area, including concerts where she represents Maryland Opera.
Life in the Arts awardees are those alumni who have the character, talent, drive and determination to pursue their passion as their livelihood. Our inductees come from the stage, screen, classroom, backstage and rehearsal halls. They are passionate about their art and create at the highest level within their domain.