At the end of January, The Harker School had a pajama and book assembly at which pairs of pajamas and books were donated to The Pajama Program, who will give them to children living in shelters in the San Jose area.
Before the assembly started, friendship and caring among the Harker students was emphasized by a visit between the Eagle Buddies. Each grade 3 student is matched with a grade 10 “buddy,” and on this occasion, the buddies spent nearly half an hour before the assembly talking and catching up with each other.
The rest of the lower school students then filed in for the assembly. Pallie Zambrano from The Pajama Program came to pick up the donations – 425 pairs of pajamas and 475 books in all – and explained the importance of them, and what they mean for children living in shelters. She told students that Harker has donated more than 1800 pairs of pajamas over the last five years. Following her talk, Butch Keller, upper school division head, performed a lively reading of the book “The Spiffiest Giant in Town,” a story about a giant who gives his clothes to those in need.
The assembly finished off with all the students reading. The Eagle Buddies paired up again for the grade 10 buddies to read to their grade 3 buddies.
Joe Connolly, dean of students K-5, said the event was “lots of fun. It was special to see the interaction between the big buddies and little buddies. The 3rd graders look forward to the times they get to spend with their big buddies. They were so excited all week and they told me they had a great time.”
At the end of January, the upper school Conservatory had its annual WinterSong concert. This spectacular performance features Bel Canto, an introductory choir at Harker for students grades 9-11 known for the many musical genres it explores. Several of these were featured at the show, including musical theater, pop and classical, the last of which was particularly rich this year due to two special guests: Cantilena – Harker’s “all-classical-all-the-time” women’s ensemble – and Camerata – a mixed classical, choral chamber ensemble, who peform essential works in various languages. Each group performed one piece at WinterSong this year, directed by Susan Nace. Between the various groups as well as the solo artist, students from every upper school grade level were represented at this year’s event.
In addition to collaborating with soloists, Bel Canto also joined forces with a few talented instrumentalists. Jennifer Cowgill, Bel Canto’s conductor and the show’s director, was particular enthusiastic about the group’s rendition of “Old Dan Tucker.” She said, “Everyone had a wonderful time singing this American folk song,” which was accompanied by the fiddle and the bass, played by Toni Woodruff and Jeffrey Kwong, grade 12. Kwong and Woodruff also joined Paul Woodruff, a performing arts aide, on two movements from Vivaldi’s “Gloria.”
Members of the grade 6 choir “Dynamics” traveled to the lower school on Jan. 13 to present interested fourth and fifth graders with a taste of what to expect in middle school, and to drum up interest in taking the choir elective. The sixth graders, dressed in their bright blue Dynamics shirts, worked with the lower school students on tongue twisters with choreography to better enunciate while singing. The middle school students also performed a choreographed song, with the younger students dancing and singing along with them.
While grade 4 and 5 is a more traditional choir, Dynamics is a very high energy show choir, bearing some similarities to musical numbers on the television show “Glee.” “Every year I have sixth graders coming to me saying they wished they had signed up for choir, but they did not realize it was going to be so much fun,” said the group’s director, Roxann Hagemeyer. Based on the energy and laughter seen on Jan. 13, that may not be a problem next year.
While on Harker’s national parks field trip, Alexis Gauba, grade 7, received exciting news from her parents: she’d been accepted into the 2012 Western Division Junior High Girls Honor Choir!
“The audition process involved singing two scales to show range and intonation. We were also required to sing a song selected by them, ‘My Country ‘Tis of Thee,’ and one song of my choice; I chose ‘Sebben Crudele,’ an Italian song. I prepared for the auditions by practicing the pieces over and over until they were perfect, and then I submitted the recordings. The waiting process was pretty nerve-racking,” said Gauba.
The audition process can be scary, and Dave Hart, a middle school instrumental music teacher, acknowledged the bravery needed to participate. “You never know what will happen with these types of auditions. The hard part is putting yourself out there and giving yourself a chance to be selected. You have to be willing to fail [in order] to create new and wonderful opportunities for yourself.”
The choir, part of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Western Conference, received auditions from up and down the West Coast, as well as from Arizona, Utah and Hawaii. According to Hart, “These conferences invite choral educators from around the West Coast to attend. Along with wonderful lectures and poster sessions, top educators are invited to work with [the honor choirs].” This year’s conference will be held in Reno, Nev., which means Gauba will have the chance to work with a variety of excellent choral educators when she travels there in February.
Hart participated in choirs such as this one when he was in school, and found the experience very rewarding. “It is special when you get a chance to spend time with other people who have a similar passion for music. When I heard about the ACDA Western Division Junior High Honor Choir, I was excited to offer the opportunity to audition to the members of my choir.”
Gauba said she’s, “Elated. I was so excited at getting this wonderful opportunity. I believe that The Harker School choir and all the audition practices and performance opportunities helped me in my preparation and I am grateful for that.”
The Harker Speaker Series is pleased to announce that author Joel Bakan will be the next speaker for the 2011-12 season, appearing at 7 p.m. at Nichols Hall on the upper school campus on Feb. 22.
Bakan is the internationally bestselling author of “The Corporation,” which inspired the acclaimed documentary of the same name. His newest book is titled “Childhood Under Siege: How Big Businesses Target Children,” also currently being adapted into a documentary. Focusing on the United States in particular, Bakan demonstrates how marketers target children, and rips the cover off the industry known as “kid marketing,” something he notes was a $50 billion industry 20 years ago, and is now a $1 trillion dollar industry. “As governments retreat from their previous roles of protecting children from harm at the hands of corporations,” Bakan writes, “we, as a society, increasingly neglect children’s needs, expose them to exploitation, and thus betray what we, as individuals, cherish most in our lives.”
Bakan is a Rhodes Scholar, with degrees from Oxford, Dalhousie and Harvard. Now a professor of law at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Bakan also serves as a frequent media commentator. His public speaking is popular in the United States and abroad, and Harker looks forward to hosting him.
Laughter rang through Saratoga and Blackford campuses on Feb. 3-4 when Harker was visited by Baby Wants Candy, a musical comedy improvisational troupe who led workshops and performed to a sold-out audience.
Baby Wants Candy was founded in 1997, and has permanent troupes in New York and Chicago; at any given time they may have 40-50 performers forming groups that tour, including to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where their relationship with Harker began. Last August the group came to see The Harker Conservatory’s production of “Pippin” at the Fringe, and they were so impressed they “adopted” the cast. The cast reaped the benefits of a special workshop and a shout-out from the stage at a performance of Baby Wants Candy during that week. When Al Samuels, a BWC performer, contacted performing arts chair Laura Lang-Ree and asked about coming West to Harker for more, Lang-Ree jumped at the chance.
The troupe performed at an upper school assembly on Feb. 3, and spent both lunchtimes answering questions from Conservatory students at a “Life in the Arts” workshop. Then the work began. On Friday and Saturday afternoons, Harker students who had signed up for the privilege of working more closely with the cast were put through their improv paces in five hours of workshops. Samuels and musical director/pianist Jody Shelton, who also improvises everything he plays, spent Friday breaking down the elements of improv, sharing effective warmups both for the brain and voice, and giving a fabulous primer on this difficult art form. Saturday they were joined by more of the cast, and the lessons continued, eventually preparing the students for participation in the BWC show on Saturday night.
The Blackford Theater was packed and buzzing by the time the show started at 7 p.m. The first half of the show allowed the Harker workshop students to spread their improv wings and test out all they had learned in the past days. BWC cast members led the kids through all manner of improv games, all based on suggestions from the audience, none of which were prepared or rehearsed.
Then it was time for the BWC cast to show why so many of its members have had successful runs with Saturday Night Live, Second City and numerous improv-based television shows. An audience member suggested the title “Presidents on Jeopardy,” and a fully choreographed, plotted and staged musical unfolded, replete with topical political references, hilarious rhymes, and the Jeopardy theme song woven throughout several of the musical numbers, thanks to Shelton’s ingenuity.
The generosity of the BWC players in traveling from New York and teaching so much of their craft, all with grace, humor and kindness, will be felt by Conservatory students for years to come … and Harker audiences may remember their raucous evening for a bit, too!
The Harker Concert Series is in its second year, yet has already established itself as a must-see event for lovers of classical and jazz repertoire. Pianist Adam Golka sold out Nichols Hall’s auditorium on Feb. 4 as the third installment of this year’s series, following Opera San Jose and the Gerald Clayton Trio. The 2011-12 season will conclude in March with the Afiara String Quartet.
Texan Golka is only 24 years old and has had a grueling concertizing schedule for some time. Winner of several major international piano competitions, including the Shanghai International Piano Competition in 2003 and the Gilmore Young Artist Award in 2008, Golka added Harker to his list of impressive collaborations, which include Carnegie Hall with the New York Youth Symphony and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. According to his online biography, Golka currently studies with Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore.
The second star of the show was the piano, a seven-foot-eight-inch Bechstein, generously leant for the evening by Piedmont Piano Company. Golka’s program showed off not only his own technical mastery, but the warmth of this wonderful instrument.
Fittingly for the Bechstein’s rich and dramatic sonority, Golka played a program of Romantic music, with a Beethoven sonata, three intermezzi by Brahms and Liszt’s famous “Mephisto Waltz” in the first half of the concert. After intermission, Golka was a tour de force, playing what is generally considered by pianists to be Beethoven’s most difficult piece, the “Hammerklavier” sonata. Each movement of this 45-minute piece showcased a different strength of both Golka and the Bechstein, with furious staccato passages, flowing, almost post-Romantic interludes and Bach-inspired fugal passages.
Golka met with audience members in the atrium after the performance.
Dear Family and Friends (and Students past and present) of Sharron Reynolds Mittelstet,
Many of you have asked that I let you know as soon as I had details of the scholarship fund in Sharron’s memory. See below for details on the Harker Scholarship fund. In the meantime, many of you in Texas have discussed making your contribution to the Borger High School scholarship fund. I think that is a great idea, too.
So whichever makes the most sense to you, we’d very much appreciate your making a contribution to the fund of your choice instead of sending flowers. Sharron is blessed to have been able to call so many of you friends, including those of you who were her students (whether from Amarillo 40 years ago or Harker as recently as three months ago) and she loved you all.
(signed) John M
“We all consider it an honor to have these contributions be given in loving memory of Sharron,” said Joe Rosenthal, executive director of advancement. “Sharron Mittelstet made a tremendous, positive impact on the lives of many children during her distinguished teaching career here at The Harker School. In return, initiated by Sharron’s husband John Mittelstet, we are proud to provide scholarship assistance in honor of Sharron to motivated and talented children who would otherwise not be able to attend Harker. “
Families wishing to contribute to this endowed scholarship fund can make their checks payable to The Harker School in memory of Sharon Mittelstet. Contributions will be invested in the associated endowed scholarship fund. “Through this fund, Sharon will continue to positively impact Harker students in perpetuity,” said Rosenthal.
It is with great sadness we announce that Sharron Mittelstet, longtime English teacher at The Harker School, passed away last night, Feb. 2, after a brave battle with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. She was 67 years old. Our hearts go out to the Mittelstet family at this difficult time.
Mrs. Mittelstet began teaching English at Harker in 1992 and has been a familiar, friendly face in the Harker halls for the past two decades. She began teaching in the middle school and joined the upper school in its second year. The students lucky enough to be in an English class taught by Mrs. Mittelstet will always remember her passion for literature, her warmth and her razor-sharp Southern wit, which was in evidence right up until the last. Her impact on the lives of Harker students will be felt for generations.
Sharron Mittelstet is survived by John, her husband of 47 years, and their daughter, Claire.
There will be a memorial for Mrs. Mittelstet on Sat., March 10, on the upper school campus. Details will follow. Lori Villarreal, assistant to the upper school head, is collecting thoughts and wishes for the Mittelstet family at loriv@harker.org or at 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, 95129. Read the student-written Talon/Winged Post article at http://www.talonwp.com/2012/02/featured/beloved-english-teacher-sharron-mittelstet-passes/.
Harker will host a performance by the renowned improvisational group Baby Wants Candy (BWC) on Sat., Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. at the Blackford Theater. Joining BWC for this show will be none other than Harker’s own performing arts students, who will attend a special workshop hosted by BWC on Feb. 3 and 4.
Based out of New York City and Chicago, Baby Wants Candy has received rave reviews from The New York Times, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Huffington Post and more for its hilarious, creative and entirely improvised shows. During a typical Baby Wants Candy performance, the audience will shout the title of a never-before-performed musical. From there, the BWC players improvise an hour-long show, complete with musical accompaniment and dance numbers choreographed on the spot. With more than 1,850 such shows performed everywhere from New York to London to Singapore, Baby Wants Candy has established itself as a hotbed of talent, with its members going on to become cast members of “Saturday Night Live,” “30 Rock,” “MadTV” and more.
Baby Wants Candy cast members attended Harker’s performance of “Pippin” at the 2011 Fringe festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. “They were so impressed they invited the students to a special workshop at the University of Edinburgh, then offered to bring their show to Harker,” said Laura Lang-Ree, Harker’s performing arts director. “This show is ‘likely to sell out, so get your tickts, fast!”
The performance will be held at Harker’s Blackford Theater at 3800 Blackford Ave., San Jose. Tickets are $15, Students $10, and can be purchased online at http://bit.ly/wGkUGg. The show is expected to sell out but a few tickets may still be available at the door. For more information, please contact communications@harker.org.
Middle school Performing Arts Lead Teacher Monica Colletti held the first ever Junior Thespian Troupe induction on Jan. 17. Eleven students were inducted into the theater honor society, which Colletti says, “represents commitment to the fantastic theater and performing arts program we have here at Harker.”
The Junior Thespian troupe is a part of the International Thespian Society, the world’s largest honor society for middle and high school theater students. Induction into the Junior Thespian program recognizes hard work and achievement within the dramatic arts.
Students interested in becoming a member of the troupe record their activities, like taking elective classes, performing in a play, working backstage on a show, or participating in summer camps or theater festivals, and are given points based on their participation. Added Colletti, “I hope that all students who love theater will want to be a member of this honor society.”