Downbeat, the upper school’s show choir group directed by teachers Jennifer Sandusky and Laura Lang-Ree, competed this past weekend in the quarterfinals of the International Competition of High School A Capella, placing fourth in ICHSA’s West region. Samvita Gautham, grade 12, was awarded for Best Student Choreography for Downbeat’s performance of No Doubt’s “Just a Girl.” Downbeat competed against 200 other schools to reach this stage of the annual competition. Held by Varsity Vocals, the ICHSA and its collegiate-level counterpart attract thousands of singers every year. The competitions were made famous by the “Pitch Perfect” series of films, in which the collegiate-level competition is prominently featured.
Last month, junior Shayla He was nominated for a Hollywood Music in Media Award (HMMA) in the Original Recording category. The HMMAs honor up-and-coming independent artists in a wide variety of categories. Shayla, who is a member of the upper school show choir Downbeat, attended the Hollywood Music in Media Academy’s award ceremony earlier this month in Hollywood, where she had the opportunity to see performances by Grammy winners Charles Fox and Diane Warren. Celebrities including Tom Hanks were also in attendance.
This week, the upper school show choir Downbeat released a special video for its annual holiday outreach tour, which typically takes place on the first Friday of December. “For the last 25 years, Downbeat has toured all over the Bay Area, bringing holiday joy to preschools, senior centers, dementia units, Grace Cathedral’s homeless lunch clients, the children’s cancer ward at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and more,” said Laura Lang-Ree, upper school performing arts chair. In addition to performing, they also bring gifts, cookies and spend time chatting with residents.
Due to safety concerns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the tour could not be held this year, but the students felt the tradition should continue in some form. “Downbeat decided it was important to continue the tradition for all of our regular outreach places and spread even more joy, as so many people are alone over the holidays due to the pandemic,” Lang-Ree said. Downbeat members spent considerable time over the fall semester creating the video, including the sound editing, arranging and narration. It will be sent to various Bay Area schools, youth centers, hospitals and care facilities. Members of the Harker community can view the video by logging in to the Harker portal and visiting the Performing Arts page.
Downbeat, the upper school’s show choir, traveled to Portland, Ore., the weekend of Feb. 22-23, where it took third place at the West quarterfinal of the 2020 International Championship of High School A Cappella, hosted by Varsity Vocals. The group has qualified for the semi-final round of the competition. Their performance of Billie Eilish and Khalid’s “Lovely” was arranged by senior Max Lee, who received an award for outstanding arrangement, and choreographed by senior Kenya Aridomi.
Every year, Varsity Vocals holds a cappella competitions for high school and college students that attract thousands of singers worldwide. The collegiate-level competition was featured in the popular “Pitch Perfect” series of films.
Senior Kelsey Wu was recently selected to be a part of Jazz in the Neighborhood’s Emerging Artists Program, which connects young Bay Area jazz talents with mentorship and performance opportunities with professional musicians. Wu, who performs with The Harker School Jazz Band and the show choir Downbeat, earned a spot in the program after a rigorous selection process that required applicants to submit videos of their performances or schedule live auditions. Those selected for the program are expected to have a five-song repertoire they can perform from memory, along with the ability to improvise on those songs as well as several jazz standards. Wu’s first performance as part of the Emerging Artists Program will be with the Dahveed Behroozi Trio at the California Jazz Conservatory on Feb. 6. at 7:30 p.m.
Founded in 2013, Jazz in the Neighborhood is a Bay Area-based organization that presents performances by local professional jazz artists and supports working musicians by arranging fair compensation for their work.
The upper school show choir, Downbeat, was recently accepted into the 2019 Varsity Vocals International Championship of High School A Cappella, a global competition highlighting high school a cappella groups. They will travel to Portland, Ore., in January to compete in the quarterfinal round. Varsity Vocals organizes a cappella competitions for high school and college students that attract thousands of singers from across the world every year. The collegiate-level competition is featured in the “Pitch Perfect” series of films, which has become one of the highest-grossing musical comedy franchise of all time.
“We are thrilled to receive this wonderful opportunity!” said Downbeat co-director Jennifer Sandusky. “It will provide a new performance venue for our singers’ musical growth with adjudicated feedback on our singing and performing skills.”
On March 7, the upper school choir Downbeat, co-directed by Jennifer Sandusky and Laura Lang-Ree, performed at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts Gala at the gorgeous (and enormous!) San Jose Performing Arts Center.
The gala celebrated the announcement of Broadway San Jose’s upcoming season with performances by Downbeat, Café Society and members of Children’s Musical Theater. Downbeat was selected to perform because of Harker’s long history of success in the San Jose Top Honors Musical Awards program, which is held in the same venue. The head of the gala gave Downbeat a warm welcome and extensively praised Harker for being a leader in performing arts in Northern California.