This story originally appeared in the fall 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Over the summer, several of Harker’s performing arts staff stayed busy with performances, professional development and other activities.
Monica Colletti, middle school drama teacher, traveled to Chicago for two weeks to take an immersion course in music improvisation at the Second City Training center. “As a result, I have since begun taking weekly improv classes at Made Up Theater in Fremont,” she said.
At the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, upper school drama teacher Jeff Draper worked with the Young Rep program, which had more than 100 students from ages 12-22 spending seven weeks in acting, musical theater, playwriting, directing and technical theater workshops. “Summer programs in the performing arts can be successful, especially if there is a facility to run them,” Draper noted.
Danny Dunn, lower school technical director, directed no less than five musicals for the summer youth program at the Tabard Theatre Company in San Jose. She also served as the director for the company’s summer camp.
One of the busier performing arts faculty members was upper school dance teacher Karl Kuehn, who performed in shows by the Atlas School of Dance and Dance Effects, as well as being a backup dancer on the main stage at San Francisco Pride. He also attended a dance camp in Sacramento with the junior varsity and varsity dancers, and did dance and choreography rehearsals with the Ragazzi Boys Chorus during the Dance Teacher Summit in New York City.
Performing arts chair Laura Lang-Ree continued fronting the Los Gatos Saratoga Big Band as lead vocalist and performed at various venues and festivals throughout the summer, such as Santana Row and the San Jose Jazz Festival.
Upper school music teacher Susan Nace performed at a variety of concerts, including one featuring music from video games. She also attended a “wonderful” choral conference in Santa Fe, N.M. “I filled in some questions I’ve had on choral tuning and ensemble rhythm issues,” she said.
This story originally appeared in the fall 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Naomi Molin, grade 10, spent a month in Australia from mid-June to mid-July on a trip to further explore her interest in the performing arts as well as to see the many fascinating sights the country has to offer. Another bonus was, of course, spending time with her friends at St. Stephen’s College.
Her fun-filled trip included a dance workshop with two members of the London cast of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” which was followed by a viewing of the show. She also participated in the St. Stephen’s spirit activities, which included many aspects of Australian aboriginal culture, such as a dance, face painting and throwing boomerangs.
Molin’s host family even took her on a trip to Australia’s world-renowned Great Barrier Reef, where they explored the area’s islands and towns and viewed crocodiles, kangaroos, wallabies and other animals at a wildlife education center.
Congrats to five singers who have earned spots in the prestigious American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Coastal Region Honor Choir! With more than 300 singers auditioning, all five Harker singers were named to the choir. Named to the mixed choir was Ishanya Anthapur, grade 11 (alto 2). Named to the women’s choir were: Katie Chung, grade 10 (soprano 2); Maya Nandakumar, grade 11 (alto 2); Sahanna Narayan, grade 10 (soprano 1); Simran Singh, grade 11 (alto 1).
The number indicates what part – high alto or soprano (1) or low alto or soprano (2) – each girl will sing in the choir at its performance Nov. 23, 2 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Palo Alto. Each girl’s audition included an Italian art song (40 points), tonal memory (25 points), sight reading (20 points), and scales and triads (15 points).
“It is range and voice quality that determines their placement into a voice part,” noted Susan Nace, a Harker choir director at the upper school. The girls’ audition will next be measured against other qualifiers from the state to determine who goes on to the state honor choir. Please congratulate these girls when you see them!
This year’s upper school fall play, “Anon(ymous),” will feature musical works composed by Harker students. A unique interpretation of Homer’s “Odyssey,” the play is “full of sense and places,” said upper school music teacher Susan Nace. “The soundscape to the play is huge, traversing oceans and continents. For one person to write all the music would be a daunting task.”
All of the composers – Brandon Yang, Kimberly Ma and Namrata Vakkalagadda, all grade 12; Agata Sorotokin, grade 11, and grade 10 students Jonathan Ta, Alice Wu and Gurutam Thockchom – volunteered without going through a selection process. “I believe that the people we need are the people we get!” Nace said.
The first task for the composers was for each of them to compose a version of the play’s main theme, dubbed “Nemasani’s Song” after the main character’s mother. Although only one student’s version was chosen to go into the play, Nace remarked that every version could find a place in the production. “There is a striking similarity between all the composers’ music, as they honed into the idea of home,” Nace said. “So I believe they all dug into the collective unconscious of what home sounds like.”
Wu was eager to try her hand at composing for the play even though she admitted her experience as a composer is limited. “I was a bit hesitant about whether I could do a good job with it, but after all, what is life without risks?” she said. “For me, I first figure out what I’m composing for and then just kind of let my mind wander. Sometimes I can find a melody by humming random notes or playing around with the keys on the piano, while other times, I just let the idea sit in the back of my head for a while until I suddenly happen to think of one.”
“I was glad to get the opportunity to compose for ‘Anon(ymous),’” said Sorotokin. “The sheer variety of genres and the idea of using music to enhance the audience’s experience, as in films, drew me to this.” The junior, who sings in the women’s vocal group Cantilena and studies piano at the San Francisco Conservatory, likes to record her ideas as soon as they arrive. “Ideas come suddenly and unpredictably,” she said. “This particular play, ‘Anon(ymous),’ has a lot of cultural references, so I like to picture how my musical ideas fit into the script. Also, it is important to keep in mind what feelings I would like to evoke in my music.”
“Anon(ymous)” premieres in late October. Be sure to attend to hear these student compositions live!
This article was originally published in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Talk of Broadway and the big screen took on a new reality for upper school Conservatory students following a recent “Life in the Arts” workshop with guest speaker Gary King ’87.
This past spring King, an award-winning filmmaker and director, returned to Harker to discuss his unique road to show business with the aspiring performing arts students. He also gave a behind-the-scenes look at his new hit indie film, “How Do You Write a Joe Schermann Song?”
Accompanying him was Broadway and film actress Christina Rose, who plays the lead role in his movie, which was released earlier this year and has received awards at venues such as the Raindance and Phoenix film festivals. King and Rose showed a trailer of the movie and spoke candidly about their experiences working in today’s rapidly changing entertainment industry.
Many of the students found it hard to believe that King, who serves as the director, writer and producer of his films, never studied acting at Harker or anywhere!
“I didn’t study performing arts at Harker, nor did I go to film school in college. I received a master’s in psychology way back in the day. I’m self-taught when it comes to filmmaking,” said King, who was reached for comment following his Harker visit.
Although he had loved cinema from a young age, King never thought to make a career out of it until after spending a few unfulfilling years working in the field of human resources.
“Talking with the students was exciting as it was amazing to see how talented and eager they are to learn and grow within their areas of interest. They surely are taking advantage of the wonderful opportunities Harker offers to them,” he said.
He recalled how Harker gave him a well-rounded education, taught him responsibility and prepared him for the future by giving him the tools to succeed. “It definitely made a difference in my life,” affirmed King, whose work is best known for delivering powerful performances with an emphasis on a strong, visual style.
The duo advised workshop attendees to expect setbacks, but not become defeated by them.
“Coming back to Harker was a complete shock,” mused King, who couldn’t believe how much everything had changed. “I’m glad that one thing which has remained the same is the faculty’s passion for the school and their students,” he said.
The middle school production of the punk-sci-fi musical “Starmites” took audiences on a wildly colorful romp through a young teenager’s imagination on May 10-11 at the Blackford Theater.
Directed by Monica Colletti, this energetic, rock music-driven story centers on Eleanor (Mia Giammona, grade 8), a withdrawn teenager who retreats into the world of the characters in her comic book collection, where she meets the heroic Starmites, who are engaged in a battle with the evil Shak Graa (Emre Ezer, grade 8) to decide the fate of Innerspace. Eleanor and her new friends then set out on a journey to find a powerful musical instrument known as the Cruelty before Shak Graa can obtain it and use it for his own ends.
The set, designed, as always, by Paul Vallerga, also kept the adventurous and raucous spirit of the musical, with its multi-levels and angular shapes. Natti Pierce-Thomson’s lighting design deftly handled the shifting moods of the story.
This article was originally published in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly.
The kindergarten classes of teachers Katherine Chi, Michelle Anderson, Kimberley Sandoval and Kelle Sloan delighted audiences during a series of shows that took place April 25-26 at the Bucknall Theater. Titled “Arf!” each of the four shows, directed by Kellie Binney-Smart, featured each kindergarten class performing canine-themed songs with hilarious skits in between, all the while wearing adorable dog costumes provided by Marylin Watts.
Students provided support behind the scenes, as Danny Dunn’s grade 5 technical theater students acted as the crew for the show. Sasha Pikiner, grade 6, also provided scenic elements to complement Whitney Pintello’s wonderful scenic artwork.
Middle school singers sang about ups and downs of being a kid at this year’s Spring Sing concert, directed by Mary Ellen Agnew-Place and titled “Just Kidding!” The show featured the grade 6 class and also featured middle school vocal groups Dynamics, Harmonics and Vivace, performing a series of songs about childhood from several famous Broadway musicals such as “Les Misérables,” “West Side Story” and “Hairspray.”
After the opening number of “Kids” from “Bye, Bye, Birdie,” the show entered its first set of songs, which followed the theme of famous orphaned characters of Broadway musicals. Grade 6 student groups sang the wistful “Castle on a Cloud” from “Les Misérables” and “Where is Love?” from the 1960 musical “Oliver.” The grade 6 show choir Dynamics, directed by Agnew-Place, finished the set with the “Annie” favorite “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” and “I Won’t Grow Up” from “Peter Pan.”
Adolescent angst was the theme for another stage of the show, which featured Vivace and the girls of Harmonics, directed by Dave Hart, singing Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman’s “Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now,” from “Hairspray,” and performances of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” by the male singers of Harmonics.
Director Monica Colletti and the entire group of Harmonics singers kicked off the next part of the show, dedicated to parents, with another Rodgers and Hammerstein piece, “The Other Generation” from “Flower Drum Song.” Vivace returned to the stage to sing Harold Rome’s “Be Kind to Your Parents” before grade 6 students performed “Never Say No” and “Plant a Radish” from “The Fantasticks.”
For the finale, all of the night’s singers stood together onstage to sing “Happiness” from “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown.”
This article was originally published in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Lower, middle and upper school instrumentalists displayed their talents for an evening audience at the Spring Concert, held April 12 at the Mexican Heritage Theater in San Jose. Several groups performed orchestral music from a wide selection of styles and time periods.
The Lower School String Ensemble kicked off the evening with a medley of American songs, and the Lower School Orchestra followed with Beethoven’s famous “Ode to Joy” and “Aragonaise” by Georges Bizet.
The Middle School Orchestra then introduced themselves to the show by teaming up with the Lower School Orchestra for a performance of a segment of Mozart’s Symphony No. 25. Harker Winds, the grade 6 wind ensemble, performed “You Are My Sunshine.”
After a brief intermission the Harker Orchestra took the stage, performing, among other pieces, “The Moldau” from Bedrich Smetana’s “Ma Vlast,” Max Bruch’s “Romanze for Viola and Orchestra,” featuring Nayeon Kim, grade 12, and the final piece of the night, “Huapango” by Jose Pablo Moncayo.
This article was originally published in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly.
This year’s “United Voices” concert moved to the beautiful Mexican Heritage Theater in San Jose, where every one of Harker’s student vocal groups performed. The Bucknall Choir, comprising grade 4-5 students, got things started with the traditional Irish folk song “Shady Grove,” Franz Schubert’s “An Die Musik,” one of the few songs that evening to be sung in a foreign language, and “We Believe in Music” by Teresa Jennings.
The grade 6 show choir, Dynamics, included the iconic World War II hit “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “Bigger Isn’t Better” in their three-song set.
Next up was the grade 7-8 group Harmonics, who sang “All That Jazz” from the musical “Chicago” before being joined by their classmates in Vivace, to sing their rendition of the Cyndi Lauper hit “True Colors.”
Starting off for the upper school was Bel Canto singing a medley from “West Side Story” and the traditional spiritual “Battle of Jericho.” Camerata sang Thomas Morley’s “Shoot False Love,” followed by the upper school show choir group Downbeat, who did the Michael Jackson classic “Man in the Mirror” and funk legends Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Sing a Song.”
The show ended with all of the night’s performers gathering on stage for a stirring performance of Jim Papoulis’ “Oye.”