This week and next week, 16 members of The Harker Orchestra will be working with Kronos Quartet – which will perform Feb. 28 at the Patil Theater – as part of its 50 for the Future program. The students will head to San Francisco this week to begin working on a piece commissioned by Kronos for the purpose of helping young musicians develop their skills for contemporary music. Their work will continue next week when Kronos Quartet visits Harker to give a special master class.
Students participating in the program are: Rachel Broweleit, Hanoom Lee, Arushi Nety, Amla Rashingkar, Jackie Yang and Jeffrey Yang, all grade 12; Sophia Horng and Maria Vazhaeparambil, both grade 11; Lucas Chen, Alex Hu, Thresia Vazhaeparambi, Austin Wang, April Zhang and Tina Zhong, all grade 10; and Sawyer Lai and Cassie May, both grade 9.
Bohemian Trio brought a world of sounds to the Patil Theater on Friday night, as the group performed a series of varied and eclectic pieces with its unique instrumental combination – made up of saxophonist Yosvany Terry, pianist Orlando Alonso and cellist Yves Dharamraj. Their first set consisted mainly of pieces written for the trio by close friends and associates, an arrangement that works well for them due to their unusual configuration. Pieces such as the tender, contemplative “Impromptu No. 1 for Gershwin,” composed by Cuban pianist Manuel Valera, contrasted well with Alexis Cuadrado’s “Trivium,” a hauntingly lively number that reflects the composer’s homeland of Barcelona.
The second half of the show featured Terry’s own works, including the lively “Tarde en la Lisa,” a tribute to the working-class neighborhood in Havana where he lived. Its complex melodies and harmonies (particularly Alonso’s piano work) created a portrait of what Terry called a “dynamic” community. They closed with “Okonkolo,” the title track from their latest album, named after the smallest member of the Batá family of drums originating from Nigeria. Beginning with an extended percussion intro, with vocalizations led by Terry, the trio launched into a vigorous section reflecting Terry’s trademark Afro-Cuban style, venturing into territory both melodic and dissonant.
Attendees at Friday night’s Harker Concert Series season opener got an earful, as Laila Biali brought no shortage of energy and emotion, performing a wide selection of original songs and arrangements of several of her favorite songs, all driven by her powerful vocals and accomplished piano work.
Biali had a story for each of the songs she performed with her trio – drummer Mike Quigg, bassist Josh Thurston-Milgrom and trumpeter (and upper school music teacher) Dave Hart – which worked in her favor, as her ability to tell stories made each tune feel a little more special, as though she was sharing the songs with the audience, and not just playing for them.
The opening two songs, both inspired by her experiences living in New York City, were also two of the evening’s highlights. “We Go” celebrates the city’s famous nightlife with an up-tempo, shoulder-moving urgency that provides the perfect backing for Biali’s impressive vocal talents and skyscraper-climbing range. Meanwhile, “Got to Love” is a fast moving paean to the borough of Brooklyn as it undergoes and attempts to beat back the gentrification that has swept over the area in the last decade.
Biali also has a keen ear for covers and how to arrange them to suit her strengths without sacrificing the power of the source material. This rare talent was most apparent on her rendition of K.D. Lang’s “Simple,” featuring a delicate vocal over a shimmering piano, effortlessly bringing out the aching joy in Lang’s lyrics. Meanwhile, concert closer and David Bowie hit “Let’s Dance” retained the no-nonsense beat of the original while incorporating Biali’s jazzy sensibilities and putting her smoky, bluesy vocals in place of Bowie’s throaty theatrics.
Biali’s trio turned in stellar work throughout the evening, particularly impressive as Biali noted that they had been playing much of this music for the first time. Although Biali was the star of the night, Quigg, Thurston-Milgrom and Hart each left their mark with stand-out solos and tight interplay.
Attendees at Friday night’s Harker Concert Series season opener got an earful, as Laila Biali brought no shortage of energy and emotion, performing a wide selection of original songs and arrangements of several of her favorite songs, all driven by her powerful vocals and accomplished piano work.
Biali had a story for each of the songs she performed with her trio – drummer Mike Quigg, bassist Josh Thurston-Milgrom and trumpeter (and upper school music teacher) Dave Hart – which worked in her favor, as her ability to tell stories made each tune feel a little more special, as though she was sharing the songs with the audience, and not just playing for them.
The opening two songs, both inspired by her experiences living in New York City, were also two of the evening’s highlights. “We Go” celebrates the city’s famous nightlife with an up-tempo, shoulder-moving urgency that provides the perfect backing for Biali’s impressive vocal talents and skyscraper-climbing range. Meanwhile, “Got to Love” is a fast moving paean to the borough of Brooklyn as it undergoes and attempts to beat back the gentrification that has swept over the area in the last decade.
Biali also has a keen ear for covers and how to arrange them to suit her strengths without sacrificing the power of the source material. This rare talent was most apparent on her rendition of K.D. Lang’s “Simple,” featuring a delicate vocal over a shimmering piano, effortlessly bringing out the aching joy in Lang’s lyrics. Meanwhile, concert closer and David Bowie hit “Let’s Dance” retained the no-nonsense beat of the original while incorporating Biali’s jazzy sensibilities and putting her smoky, bluesy vocals in place of Bowie’s throaty theatrics.
Biali’s trio turned in stellar work throughout the evening, particularly impressive as Biali noted that they had been playing much of this music for the first time. Although Biali was the star of the night, Quigg, Thurston-Milgrom and Hart each left their mark with stand-out solos and tight interplay.
Attendees at Friday night’s Harker Concert Series season opener got an earful, as Laila Biali brought no shortage of energy and emotion, performing a wide selection of original songs and arrangements of several of her favorite songs, all driven by her powerful vocals and accomplished piano work.
Biali had a story for each of the songs she performed with her trio – drummer Mike Quigg, bassist Josh Thurston-Milgrom and trumpeter (and upper school music teacher) Dave Hart – which worked in her favor, as her ability to tell stories made each tune feel a little more special, as though she was sharing the songs with the audience, and not just playing for them.
The opening two songs, both inspired by her experiences living in New York City, were also two of the evening’s highlights. “We Go” celebrates the city’s famous nightlife with an up-tempo, shoulder-moving urgency that provides the perfect backing for Biali’s impressive vocal talents and skyscraper-climbing range. Meanwhile, “Got to Love” is a fast moving paean to the borough of Brooklyn as it undergoes and attempts to beat back the gentrification that has swept over the area in the last decade.
Biali also has a keen ear for covers and how to arrange them to suit her strengths without sacrificing the power of the source material. This rare talent was most apparent on her rendition of K.D. Lang’s “Simple,” featuring a delicate vocal over a shimmering piano, effortlessly bringing out the aching joy in Lang’s lyrics. Meanwhile, concert closer and David Bowie hit “Let’s Dance” retained the no-nonsense beat of the original while incorporating Biali’s jazzy sensibilities and putting her smoky, bluesy vocals in place of Bowie’s throaty theatrics.
Biali’s trio turned in stellar work throughout the evening, particularly impressive as Biali noted that they had been playing much of this music for the first time. Although Biali was the star of the night, Quigg, Thurston-Milgrom and Hart each left their mark with stand-out solos and tight interplay.
New York City’s PROJECT Trio gave a fitting send-off to this year’s Harker Concert Series season tonight, with a fun and exhilarating set at the Patil Theater that drew upon many diverse influences. Flautist (and YouTube sensation) Greg Pattillo, cellist Eric Stephenson and bassist Peter Seymour showed the results of their classical training by opening with a piece by Russian composer Mikhail Glinka, reimagined by the group as a jazz-funk romp punctuated by Pattillo’s beatboxing technique, which he employed throughout the show. They followed up with the highly familiar motif from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, which also incorporated the band’s deep appreciation for jazz, highlighted by Pattillo’s soloing. Stephenson remarked on how PROJECT Trio offered the unique opportunity to play music not normally considered for “classical” instruments, as the group dove into Charlie Parker’s “Yardbird Suite,” each member soloing tastefully and with reverence for the great bebop saxophonist.
Returning from the intermission, the audience was soon treated to PROJECT Trio’s retelling of Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf,” with the setting moved to present-day Brooklyn and the music following the band’s approach to reinterpreting cherished works. Narration was provided by the band, as members interjected amusingly throughout the piece, one of the favorites of the night. They closed their set with “The Bodega,” a rousing salsa number no doubt inspired by the many convenience stores for which their home of New York City is famous.
More than 200 people arrived at the Patil Theater this evening to see the Miró Quartet perform at the second event of the 2018-19 Harker Concert Series season. Since its founding in 1995, the Miró Quartet – comprising violinists Daniel Ching and William Fedkenheuer, violist John Largess and cellist Joshua Gindele – has claimed first place at numerous competitions, including the Banff International String Quartet Competition. In 2005, it was the first string ensemble in history to receive the Avery Fisher Career Grant.
In its second Harker Concert Series appearance, the quartet’s program consisted of works by Franz Schubert, Leoš Janáček and Felix Mendelssohn, and the Patil Theater proved to be a splendid venue to hear them performed by a group of superb, accomplished musicians. Schubert’s bittersweet melodies and the fiery, tumultuous passion of Janáček’s “Intimate Letters” (believed to be inspired by the affectionate letters he exchanged with a woman many years his junior) rang brilliantly through the theater’s acoustics. During a brief talk between the first two pieces, Largess remarked that those in attendance made up “the youngest audience we’ve played for in a long time,” which was fitting given that Schubert and Mendelssohn were both in their teens when they composed the pieces in this evening’s show.
Following intermission, the quartet closed with Mendelssohn’s “Quartet in A minor, Op. 13,” another piece created by someone in love, albeit much earlier in life. Though perhaps less intense than Janacek’s work, it expressed a similar range of emotion, fully realized in the Miró Quartet’s very capable hands.
More than 200 people arrived at the Patil Theater this evening to see the Miró Quartet perform at the second event of the 2018-19 Harker Concert Series season. Since its founding in 1995, the Miró Quartet – comprising violinists Daniel Ching and William Fedkenheuer, violist John Largess and cellist Joshua Gindele – has claimed first place at numerous competitions, including the Banff International String Quartet Competition. In 2005, it was the first string ensemble in history to receive the Avery Fisher Career Grant.
In its second Harker Concert Series appearance, the quartet’s program consisted of works by Franz Schubert, Leoš Janáček and Felix Mendelssohn, and the Patil Theater proved to be a splendid venue to hear them performed by a group of superb, accomplished musicians. Schubert’s bittersweet melodies and the fiery, tumultuous passion of Janáček’s “Intimate Letters” (believed to be inspired by the affectionate letters he exchanged with a woman many years his junior) rang brilliantly through the theater’s acoustics. During a brief talk between the first two pieces, Largess remarked that those in attendance made up “the youngest audience we’ve played for in a long time,” which was fitting given that Schubert and Mendelssohn were both in their teens when they composed the pieces in this evening’s show.
Following intermission, the quartet closed with Mendelssohn’s “Quartet in A minor, Op. 13,” another piece created by someone in love, albeit much earlier in life. Though perhaps less intense than Janacek’s work, it expressed a similar range of emotion, fully realized in the Miró Quartet’s very capable hands.
More than 200 people arrived at the Patil Theater this evening to see the Miró Quartet perform at the second event of the 2018-19 Harker Concert Series season. Since its founding in 1995, the Miró Quartet – comprising violinists Daniel Ching and William Fedkenheuer, violist John Largess and cellist Joshua Gindele – has claimed first place at numerous competitions, including the Banff International String Quartet Competition. In 2005, it was the first string ensemble in history to receive the Avery Fisher Career Grant.
In its second Harker Concert Series appearance, the quartet’s program consisted of works by Franz Schubert, Leoš Janáček and Felix Mendelssohn, and the Patil Theater proved to be a splendid venue to hear them performed by a group of superb, accomplished musicians. Schubert’s bittersweet melodies and the fiery, tumultuous passion of Janáček’s “Intimate Letters” (believed to be inspired by the affectionate letters he exchanged with a woman many years his junior) rang brilliantly through the theater’s acoustics. During a brief talk between the first two pieces, Largess remarked that those in attendance made up “the youngest audience we’ve played for in a long time,” which was fitting given that Schubert and Mendelssohn were both in their teens when they composed the pieces in this evening’s show.
Following intermission, the quartet closed with Mendelssohn’s “Quartet in A minor, Op. 13,” another piece created by someone in love, albeit much earlier in life. Though perhaps less intense than Janacek’s work, it expressed a similar range of emotion, fully realized in the Miró Quartet’s very capable hands.
Jazz phenom Taylor Eigsti dazzled the 240 audience members in attendance at the Patil Theater this evening at the first event of the Harker Concert Series’ 2018-19 season. Joined by longtime friend and celebrated saxophonist Dayna Stephens, as well as drummer Jason Lewis and bassist Zach Ostroff, the prodigy-turned-Grammy nominee performed several of his own compositions as well as his own interpretations of works by artists such as John Coltrane. Upper school music teacher Dave Hart, an accomplished trumpeter and a friend of Eigsti’s, also joined the band for a song, as did the new middle school music teacher Naoki Taniguchi.
As a bonus to the fantastic performance, guests enjoyed the variety of food and drinks available during the reception and intermission, held in the Rothschild Performing Arts Center’s spacious and elegantly decorated lobby.