This article was originally published in the Harker Quarterly Spring 2011 Edition
Fifth Graders ‘Go West’
By Steve M. Boyle ’06
This January Harker’s entire grade 5 class took part in multiple performances of the musical “Go West,” by John Jacobson and Roger Emerson.
The musical, billed as “a musical celebration of America’s westward expansion,” was directed by music teacher Jennifer Cowgill, and the cast included 120 students. Cowgill used the cast to create rich crowd scenes including cowboys, belles, reporters, journalists, businessmen, horses and cows. “They are singing two and three-part harmonies in a number of songs in the show. This is very impressive for a group of more than 100 fifth graders,” said Cowgill.
Students from the lower, middle and upper schools were eager to pitch in. Danny Dunn’s grade 5 technical theater class served as stage crew, handling props and directing traffic behind the scenes (see story, page 28).
Cowgill noted the importance of learning the process: “The process of rehearsing for a show allows them to take risks and share creativity, work with others and develop consideration for the people with whom they interact every day,” Cowgill wrote in her program notes. “By being involved in this, they are beginning to develop life skills that stretch beyond the classroom.” To read the full story in Harker News [Online], search on “Go West.”
Winter Concert 2011
By Zach Jones
The 2011 Winter Concert on Jan. 14 brought together groups from all three campuses for a special two-part show at the Blackford Theater. With eight groups performing, the concert provided a well rounded view of the talents of Harker’s many instrumentalists.
The Lower School String Ensemble, directed by Toni Woodruff, began the show with their versions of “Sword Dance” by Bob Phillips and “Bach Country Fiddles.” The Lower School Orchestra and Lower School Jazz Ensemble, both directed by Louis Hoffman, then followed, performing a number of popular pieces, including the orchestra’s performance of Strauss’ “Radetzky March” and the jazz ensemble’s rendition of Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music.”
Directed by David Hart, who also directed the Grade 6 Orchestra and the Grade 7-8 Orchestra, the Middle School Jazz Band played well-known tunes such as “The Saints Go Marching In” and Billy Strayhorn’s “Take the ‘A’ Train.”
The Grade 6 Orchestra’s set included the Shaker hymn “Simple Gifts” and a rousing performance of the famous “James Bond Theme” by Monty Norman. Grades 7 and 8 played “Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity” from Holst’s “The Planets” and concluded with “New World, Mvt. I” from Dvorák’s “Symphony No. 9.”
The Harker School Jazz Band and The Harker School Orchestra, upper school groups directed by Chris Florio, closed the evening. The jazz band was joined by two special guests from Tamagawa Gakuen, Miyu Kondo on tenor saxophone and Marina Saito on baritone saxophone. They performed such tunes as “Bones For Basie” by English composer Alan Hare and the rollicking “You Can Have It” by Morgan Ames and James Foster.
After a brief intermission, the upper school orchestra concluded the concert with their performances of pieces by Verdi, Schubert and Brahms. Their performance of Saint-Saëns’ foreboding “Danse Bacchanale,” from “Samson and Dalila,” brought the show to an exhilarating close.
Grade 2 and 3 Holiday Show
By Zach Jones
The talents of grades 2 and 3 filled the Bucknall Theater with seasonal cheer at the special holiday show, titled “Home at Harker for the Holidays,” on Dec. 16. The show featured all students in both grades, each singing a wide array of holiday songs.
Louis Hoffman, lower school music teacher, directed the show. Second and third graders collaborated for the opening number, “December Nights.” Grade 2 students carried on with songs such as “Over the River and Through the Woods” and a tune called “Piñata,” which included swinging at piñatas suspended above the stage.
The grade 3 singers took the stage shortly after to perform a special selection of songs, including “Arbolito,” sung entirely in Spanish and accompanied by lower school Spanish teacher Anita Gilbert on vocals, music teachers Toni and Paul Woodruff on violin and piano, and four student instrumentalists, also from grade 3: cellist Rachel Broweleit, violinist Gabriel Chai, violinist Kyle Li and cellist Jeffrey Yang.
For the final performance, both classes once again took the stage to sing “Around the World at Holiday Time” and the grand finale, “Jingle Bell Rock.”
Grade 1 Holiday Show
By Zach Jones
Grade 1 students provided plenty of holiday cheer to the audience at the Bucknall Theater during their holiday concert in mid-December.
Directed by Louis Hoffman, lower school music teacher, the entire first grade class sang a diverse repertoire of holiday themed songs, including “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” They also performed a medley of traditional songs about Hanukkah.
The halfway point of the show featured a dance number to the song “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Johnny Marks, with choreography by after-school dance teacher Kristin Maurer. During the second half, grade 1 homeroom teachers Rita Stone, Cindy Proctor, Diann Chung and Mary Holaday took the stage, dancing to “Gingerbread Cookies” with giant gingerbread cookie cut-outs.
Following the show, students and parents attended a special after-party in the Bucknall gym, where they enjoyed cookies, hot chocolate and a special appearance by Frosty the Snowman.
Student-Directed Showcase
By William Cracraft
Student-Directed Showcase (SDS) is the culmination of four years of hard work tempered both by fun and the passion performers bring to their craft. Each year eager seniors apply to take this course, taught by Laura Lang-Ree, and the lucky few get an unusual glimpse into the world of play direction and production.
Each director must choose the piece to be presented, plan the set, audition the cast and arrange for all the necessary technical help to make the production a success. This year four seniors, Adi Parige, Mallika Dhaliwal, Allika Walvekar and John Ammatuna, took up their tasks with a will and produced some great theater.
The shows this year were “Hard Candy” (Walvekar), “The Marvelous Wonderettes” (Ammatuna), “The Dancers” (Dhaliwal) and “All in the Timing” (Parige).
“I never realized how many views there are when looking at a show,” Ammatuna said. “I had to look at it as a director, musical director, costumer, props manager, choreographer, technician and audience member, but learning to look at the show in so many ways was a great experience.”
Walvekar agreed. “I definitely realized that you have to stay true to your directorial vision, but you also have to be flexible,” she said. “Not everything can happen the way you first envisioned it, so you have to be willing to adapt.”
All four students will take away a lifetime experience from the shows they produced. “SDS was the most amazing opportunity, and I will treasure it forever because it allowed me to grow both as an artist and as a person,” said Dhaliwal.
See the full story in Harker News Online; search on “SDS.”
WinterSong
By Zach Jones
Upper school vocal group Bel Canto was joined by several friends for the annual WinterSong concert on Jan. 21 in the Nichols Hall auditorium. Directed by Catherine Snider, Bel Canto kicked off with “Everybody Rejoice,” from the musical “The Wiz,” followed by a version of Mozart’s “Ave Verum” and “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” from the musical “Hair.”
The next phase of the concert featured a number of impressive solo performances by Harker Conservatory certificate candidates, including guitarist Nidhi Gandhi, grade 12, playing “Rondo, Op. 48” by Fernando Sor; Allika Walvekar, grade 12, singing the Weill/Gershwin piece “My Ship”; Catherine Stiles, grade 12, performing a Scarlatti piece on the harp; and junior Charles Levine performing an original piano piece, titled “Winter.”
For the final portion, Bel Canto once again gathered onstage, singing “Ose Shalom,” a traditional Hebrew text set to music by John Leavitt, and the traditional spiritual “Shine on Me.”
Upper School Dance Draws on Vivid Sources to Celebrate the Natural World
By Steve M. Boyle ’06
The upper school dance production, a yearly celebration of dance with choreography by upper school dance teachers and students, was presented in late January. This year’s production, “Be-A-Muse(d),” was designed by artistic director Laura Rae as an investigation of inspiration and creative processes in the natural world.
“Be-A-Muse(d)” heavily showcased technology to tell its story, with twin projector screens flanking the Blackford stage, reflecting a series of breathtaking panoramas and metropolitan vignettes.
This year’s production drew its music from a panoply of popular, classical, cultural and expressive sources, making room for contemporary bands like Muse and Temper Trap alongside a Hans Zimmer soundtrack, Charles Mingus’ jazz and Niña Pastori’s flamenco.
Student dancers wore shimmering, futuristic outfits that reflected the stage lights, and one memorable moment featured a musical number composed entirely from the startup sounds of a Windows computer.
The production reached its apex in the rendition of the heartbreaking song “This Bitter Earth.” There, dancers in dusty, brown, wrinkled costumes – like decaying leaves in autumn – danced a dipping, worn-down ode, an illustration of the death required for seasonal rebirth.
“Be-A-(Muse)d” was choreographed by teachers Laura Rae, Karl Kuehn, Amalia Vasconi and Adrian Bermudez, along with students Carmen Das-Grande, Katie Forsberg, Nidhi Gandhi, Amritha Minisandram, Daisy Mohrman, Naomi So, Kenny Wong, Erica Woolsey, all grade 12; Sarika Asthana, Sonya Chalaka, Sarah Howells, Margaret Krackeler, all grade 11; and Tiphaine Delepine, Michaela Kastelman, Molly Wolfe, all grade 10.
See the full story in Harker News Online; search on “dance.”
This article was originally published in the Harker Quarterly Spring 2011 Edition
The eagerly awaited fashion show 2011 “When I Grow Up … Dream Big!” lived up to its name, with a big, exciting event. At the two shows, more than 1,000 guests were greeted at the Santa Clara Convention Center by middle school student hosts and led to the event foyer, where they could peruse the beautifully decorated tables filled with auction items. Some tried their luck at the gift wheel, while others headed into the ballroom to find their tables and listen to the Harker Jazz Band, directed by Chris Florio.
Elegant tables decked out with floral centerpieces surrounded a cross-shaped runway flanked by three active video screens. Chris Nikoloff, head of school, welcomed guests and introduced the show’s honorary chair, Diana Nichols, with a short video clip. Pictures of Nichols as a child and a voiceover explaining her passion for science provided a nostalgic introduction to Nichols herself, who took to the runway to thank the guests, sponsors and fashion show committee for their work.
The show’s theme was creatively interwoven throughout by show director Laura Lang-Ree, chair of the performing arts department. Before and during fashion segments, video screens showed clips of teachers and staff sharing their dreams and giving advice on finding one’s passion. Along with taped video, live video of the action brought excitement and immediacy to the proceedings; J Gaston, graphic arts teacher and Office of Communication videographer, and Adi Parige, grade 12, were on the sides of the room handling the live video cameras, a new addition to the production this year.
But what about the fashion? Macy’s of Valley Fair and Eli Thomas for Men of Santana Row provided most of the clothing, and the Giants Dugout Store even got into the action for a segment dedicated to our own hometown World Series heroes. A total of 83 student, faculty, staff, parent and alumni models strutted their stuff with confidence and delighted all with their style and personality. Varsity Dance Troupe, Downbeat and Dance Fusion wowed the crowd with stunning routines, and Downbeat also provided a vocal backdrop to the final modeling segment.
At the evening show the fun continued after the fashion portion with a live auction, ably led by Harker favorite Damon Casatico. He cajoled, wheedled and prodded guests to raise paddles for tickets to the Grammy and Emmy awards, spectacular vacation trips, a quilt made by our kindergartners, a flyover with the San Jose Police Department and much more. Guests relaxed their grip on their paddles after the auction and hit the dance floor, enjoying the terrific cover band, The Cheeseballs.
It took only a few days for the exciting totals to be tabulated, and Sue Prutton, fashion show liaison and upper school volunteer director, happily reported that the fundraiser was very successful. The live and online auctions raised $83,270, and our sponsors, advertisers and gift wheel participants contributed $126,730 to the proceeds, which support two main funds: financial assistance through the Financial Aid Fund to students who would otherwise be unable to benefit from a Harker education; and Phase 4 of the capital campaign, including the construction of a theater and gym on the Saratoga campus.
This article was originally published in the Harker Quarterly Spring 2011 Edition
The third annual Alumni Conservatory Classic, held New Year’s Day at the Nichols Hall auditorium, reunited alumni and current students for a special series of performances.
The concert, which was run and directed by alumni, showcased the diversity and uniqueness of Harker’s performing arts students and graduates, featuring classical pieces, jazz standards and songs from musicals. All pieces were self-directed, learned and rehearsed during the winter break.
Alumni and current students collaborated on most of the songs during the show, including “Therapy” from the musical “Tick, Tick … Boom!” which featured singers D.J. Blickenstaff ’09 and Lauren Ammatuna ’08, with Benjamin Tien, grade 12, providing accompaniment on piano.
During another student-alumni collaboration for the Presto from Felix Mendelssohn’s “Octet in E-flat, Op. 20,” violinists Audrey Kwong ’07 and Helen Wu, grade 8, were accompanied by violinists Jonathan Wang ’08 and Albert Chen, grade 10, senior Warren Kwong and Stephanie Kim ’08 on viola, and Julia Shim ’10 and Melody Huang, grade 11, on cello.
For the show’s final number, past and present members of the upper school all-male vocal ensemble Guys’ Gig – Peter Combs ’04, Aseem Shukla ’07, Alex Underwood ’08, Ben Englert ’08, Amaresh Shukla ’09, Chetan Vakkalagadda ’09, Joe Hospodor ’09, Kartik Venkatraman ’09, and current seniors Kwong, Aditya Parige and Sean Martin – gathered to sing Elliott Yamin’s “Wait for You,” arranged by Vakkalagadda, and a medley of songs by various artists titled “Bm G D A II,” arranged by Venkatraman.
Kristen Park, grade 7, has been selected to the 2011 California All-State Concert Band. Park, who plays the B-flat soprano clarinet, competed against more than a thousand applicants vying for a prestigious spot in the band.
“Kristen is very musical and self-driven, and she has improved greatly throughout the year,” said David Hart, director of the middle school’s orchestra and jazz bands. “It does not surprise me at all that she is one of the top middle school clarinetists in California.”
To audition, applicants must prepare complicated musical pieces and scales, depending on the instrument. They are judged on intonation, tone, rhythm, technique, interpretation, balance and overall performance.
Park is the first grade 7 student from Harker to ever make the all-state band. Congratulations!
The Harker School Orchestra, led by Chris Florio, reached a new pinnacle in its development today when it received a unanimous superior rating at the Californian Music Educators Association festival. The orchestra, 71 students strong, performed “Elsa’s Procession” from “Lohengrin”by Richard Wagner and “Polovetsian Dances” by Alexander Borodin. Judges’ comments included, “very ambitious program, nicely done; impressive technique; excellent solo work.”
“Our program has been growing and improving steadily for the past six years,” said Florio. “This honor is really a testament to the hard work that these students and those who have graduated from our orchestra have put in.
“Although we don’t measure our success as an orchestra by these festivals, they are a still a great event that helps the greater musical public know what great things we are doing at Harker. Our students love to play orchestral music and that passion comes out in their playing. That is what the judges heard today and that is what, I believe, led to our unanimous superior,” Florio added.
For the first time in the history of The Harker School, jazz bands from all three campuses came together for “An Evening of Jazz,” a major performance at the Blackford Theater in mid-March. Dressed to the nines, students spanning K-12 played fifteen standards, mixing suave and bluesy numbers with funkier, buoyant beats while alternating between solo performances and ensemble work.
The upper school’s The Harker School Jazz Band, directed by Chris Florio, led off with the energetic, trombone-heavy “I Got Rhythm,” by George and Ira Gershwin, and a dark and romantic rendition of “When Sunny Gets Blue,” featuring the vocals of Francesca Nagle, grade 12. The Lower School Jazz Ensemble, directed by Louis Hoffman, followed with the sweet “Tenor Madness,” the smoky “Killer Joe” and Charlie Parker’s “Now’s the Time,” with talented soloists who were barely taller than their instruments. The show was then handed off to the Middle School Jazz Band, directed by David Hart, whose medley of Sonny Rollins compositions included the tropical and airy “St. Thomas” and the blues number “Sunny Moon for Two.”
After intermission, the middle school group finished their Sonny Rollins medley with a new arrangement of “Doxy” that the group had been experimenting with in the days leading up to the show. After they finished with the catchy “Work Song,” by Nat Adderley, the upper schoolers retook the stage for a series of numbers designed to feature graduating seniors in their final major jazz concert. The rumbling, moody “A Mis Abuelos,” by Arturo Sandoval, gave way to Thelonius Monk and Cootie Williams’ melancholy “’Round Midnight” before Nagle returned to help the band finish off with Duke Ellington and Mack David’s “I’m Just a Lucky So and So,” the touching “Skylark” and “Smack Dab in the Middle.”
As the performance came to a close, the audience recognized each band with rapt applause, before all three groups crowded together on stage in a final, rousing rendition of “When the Saints (Go Marching In)”, bringing the evening to a close on a high note.
The first installment of the Harker Concert Series of 2011, held in early March, featured the MarcOlivio Duo, composed of violinists Marc Ramirez and Olivia Hajioff, playing a blend of crushing, heartbreaking and even carnivalesque Eastern European folks songs, art music, and a parody of Mozart’s work.
The MarcOlivia Duo has performed around the world, appearing on radio and television in North America, Europe and Asia, winning Fulbright fellowships, and enjoying a residency at the Tokyo College of Music. On March 9, however, they came to Nichols Auditorium and the audience, feted with sushi and wine, was treated to tunes adapted for two violins.
The concert began with a number of compositions by Béla Bartók, a 20th-century Hungarian composer who traveled through Eastern Europe, listening to and transcribing the folk songs of village communities before they disappeared and melted into a homogeneous global culture. Most of these numbers were short and sudden – thirty seconds of powerful, tragic, arresting, halting, despairing, jagged strikes, followed by ten second fearsomely frenetic and jubilant conclusions. Some were songs of Romanian bagpipes transliterated for violins; others mixed bittersweet reaching and trudging marches with maddeningly twisting, spiraling slashes.
After the most powerful numbers, the audience was paralyzed in frozen silence for several seconds before applauding, digesting the works. The concert finished, however, on somewhat of a lighter note: a blend of a parody and an ode to Mozart’s music, as the two performers wove through a number of his pieces, even using voice and whistling to mimic other instruments.
The Harker Concert Series continues with the Taylor Eigsti Trio March 25 and Areon Flutes, a Bay Area-based flute quartet, at Nichols Auditorium on May 27.
The first installment of the Harker Concert Series of 2011, held in early March, featured the MarcOlivio Duo, composed of violinists Marc Ramirez and Olivia Hajioff, playing a blend of crushing, heartbreaking and even carnivalesque Eastern European folks songs, art music, and a parody of Mozart’s work.
The MarcOlivia Duo has performed around the world, appearing on radio and television in North America, Europe and Asia, winning Fulbright fellowships, and enjoying a residency at the Tokyo College of Music. On March 9, however, they came to Nichols Auditorium and the audience, feted with sushi and wine, was treated to tunes adapted for two violins.
The concert began with a number of compositions by Béla Bartók, a 20th-century Hungarian composer who traveled through Eastern Europe, listening to and transcribing the folk songs of village communities before they disappeared and melted into a homogeneous global culture. Most of these numbers were short and sudden – thirty seconds of powerful, tragic, arresting, halting, despairing, jagged strikes, followed by ten second fearsomely frenetic and jubilant conclusions. Some were songs of Romanian bagpipes transliterated for violins; others mixed bittersweet reaching and trudging marches with maddeningly twisting, spiraling slashes.
After the most powerful numbers, the audience was paralyzed in frozen silence for several seconds before applauding, digesting the works. The concert finished, however, on somewhat of a lighter note: a blend of a parody and an ode to Mozart’s music, as the two performers wove through a number of his pieces, even using voice and whistling to mimic other instruments.
The Harker Concert Series continues with the Taylor Eigsti Trio March 25 and Areon Flutes, a Bay Area-based flute quartet, at Nichols Auditorium on May 27.
The first installment of the Harker Concert Series of 2011, held in early March, featured the MarcOlivio Duo, composed of violinists Marc Ramirez and Olivia Hajioff, playing a blend of crushing, heartbreaking and even carnivalesque Eastern European folks songs, art music, and a parody of Mozart’s work.
The MarcOlivia Duo has performed around the world, appearing on radio and television in North America, Europe and Asia, winning Fulbright fellowships, and enjoying a residency at the Tokyo College of Music. On March 9, however, they came to Nichols Auditorium and the audience, feted with sushi and wine, was treated to tunes adapted for two violins.
The concert began with a number of compositions by Béla Bartók, a 20th-century Hungarian composer who traveled through Eastern Europe, listening to and transcribing the folk songs of village communities before they disappeared and melted into a homogeneous global culture. Most of these numbers were short and sudden – thirty seconds of powerful, tragic, arresting, halting, despairing, jagged strikes, followed by ten second fearsomely frenetic and jubilant conclusions. Some were songs of Romanian bagpipes transliterated for violins; others mixed bittersweet reaching and trudging marches with maddeningly twisting, spiraling slashes.
After the most powerful numbers, the audience was paralyzed in frozen silence for several seconds before applauding, digesting the works. The concert finished, however, on somewhat of a lighter note: a blend of a parody and an ode to Mozart’s music, as the two performers wove through a number of his pieces, even using voice and whistling to mimic other instruments.
The Harker Concert Series continues with the Taylor Eigsti Trio March 25 and Areon Flutes, a Bay Area-based flute quartet, at Nichols Auditorium on May 27.
In the biggest collaboration yet among Harker vocal groups, ensembles from all three campuses gathered at a packed Blackford Theater on March 18 for this year’s United Voices concert.
Community was a major emphasis for this installment of the show. In order to give all classes the chance to see one another perform, a twist on the traditional technical run-through was held before the show took place: the performers sat in the audience instead of backstage. The performers also enjoyed a pasta dinner, where students from all campuses mingled with one another. Several upper school girls also assisted the lower school choir performers with their hair and wardrobe.
Vivace, directed by Dave Hart and featuring singers from grades 7 and 8, kicked off the show with Antonio Vivaldi’s “Laudamas Te” and Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “One Note Samba.” The group made three more appearances on stage that evening singing a variety of works, including traditional folk songs from Korea and Japan, as well as “Blue Skies” by Irving Berlin. One number had them team up with the grade 7 and 8 group Harmonics for a special performance of the Beatles’ “Blackbird.”
Representing the lower school was the Bucknall Choir, made up of grade 4 and 5 students who were directed by Jennifer Cowgill. They sang “Red Dragonflies” by Kosaku Yamada, as well as the traditional Russian Yiddish piece “Turn Balalaika.” Special accompaniment was provided by Paul Woodruff on piano and Toni Woodruff on violin.
The first of the upper school groups to perform was Camerata, directed by Susan Nace, singing “Adieu, Sweet Amaryllis.” Bel Canto, directed by Catherine Snider and featuring juniors Alex Najibi on violin and the group’s accompanist, Ramya Rangan, on piano, then sang a beautiful arrangement of the traditional song “Shenandoah.”
Cantilena, Nace’s all-female group, performed the Native American-inspired soundscape “Watane,” which featured percussion, wind chimes and other atmospheric touches.
Roxann Hagemeyer directed the Grade 6 choir, who sang Susan Thrift’s “Antiphony Kyrie” before breaking into the energetic performances of “Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop” and “Feel the Beat,” driven by infectiously upbeat choreography.
Harmonics, directed by middle school music teachers Monica Colletti and Hagemeyer, performed a spirited, animated medleys of 1960s classics, which included such cultural standards as “Dancing in the Street,” “The Loco-Motion” and “Twist and Shout.”
Prior to the show’s final number, the upper school’s Downbeat, directed by Snider and Laura Lang-Ree, delivered a rich and moving version of Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” after which all of the groups who performed that evening assembled on the stage for the last song. Following some thankful words from Lang-Ree to the parents and administration, Cowgill led the gathering of more than 175 students in singing a modern arrangement of the traditional English folk song “The Water is Wide,” a truly momentous performance that for the first time captured so many voices from all three campuses singing in harmony together. United, indeed!