Two of Harker’s performing arts alumni were named inaugural awardees of Harker’s Life in the Arts awards on Friday at the annual Senior Showcase, the celebration of those graduating with a Conservatory certificate along with their diploma. Gabrielle DeMers ’03 and D.J. Blickenstaff ’09 were honored for their commitment to their careers as performers as a group of family, friends, former teachers and administrators looked on.
DeMers was in the second high school graduating class at Harker and was part of the effort to create the Harker Conservatory. She had major roles in “Little Shop of Horrors” in 2001 and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 2002, and she remains the only Conservatory graduate to major in both vocal music and theater.
DeMers holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and a Master of Music in opera performance from the University of Maryland, College Park. As a member of the Maryland Opera Studio, she sang the title role of Sandrina in Mozart’s “La Finta Giardiniera” and Tatyana in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.” Read her full biography here. Watch her acceptance of the award here.
She had a few words of advice for those interested in a career in the arts. “I was flashing back to my Senior Showcase and if I could give myself advice at that age, the first thing would be to dream big,” said DeMers, “because it has to start with a vision, you have to envision what you want to do. The road to it may be full of twists and turns, and take you in an unexpected direction, but you have to envision it first.
“The second thing I would have told myself is, growth comes through failure. You will receive a lot of rejection and you will make some mistakes, but the most growth I ever experienced as an artist is by trying things that were huge, coming up a little short, then getting into the practice room and figuring out how to get better next time,” she said.
Blickenstaff shone in Harker productions of “Urinetown: The Musical” (Lockstock) in 2007, “Annie Get Your Gun” (Frank Butler) in 2008 and “The Music Man” (Harold Hill) in 2009. After graduating from Harker with a certificate from the Conservatory along with his diploma, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California and has appeared in a number of shows, including a reoccurring role in Netflix’ “Dear White People.” Read his full biography here.Watch him accepting the award here.
His advice for those interested in a career in the arts? “Trust yourself,” Blickenstaff said, “not just believe in yourself, but trust yourself and go out there and pursue it.”
And he added a few kind words for those who helped launch him. “Harker really truly is one of the driving forces behind me pursuing a life in the arts,” Blickenstaff said. “I would be nowhere in the arts without Harker and the amazing Harker family and the Harker faculty.”
Life in the Arts awardees are those alumni who have the character, talent, drive and determination to pursue their passion as their livelihood. Inductees come from the stage, screen, classroom, backstage and rehearsal halls. They are passionate about their art and create at the highest level within their domain.
“Life in the Arts inductees are not necessarily ‘stars’ in the performing arts like we think of on stage or screen,” said Lang-Ree. “We may come to recognize their names, and we may never see their names in lights, but they are living out their own dreams and that is what we honor.”
A permanent location to display annual winners is currently in progress and will be unveiled at next year’s presentation.
Two of Harker’s performing arts alumni were named inaugural awardees of Harker’s Life in the Arts awards on Friday at the annual Senior Showcase, the celebration of those graduating with a Conservatory certificate along with their diploma. Gabrielle DeMers ’03 and D.J. Blickenstaff ’09 were honored for their commitment to their careers as performers as a group of family, friends, former teachers and administrators looked on.
DeMers was in the second high school graduating class at Harker and was part of the effort to create the Harker Conservatory. She had major roles in “Little Shop of Horrors” in 2001 and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 2002, and she remains the only Conservatory graduate to major in both vocal music and theater.
DeMers holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and a Master of Music in opera performance from the University of Maryland, College Park. As a member of the Maryland Opera Studio, she sang the title role of Sandrina in Mozart’s “La Finta Giardiniera” and Tatyana in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.” Read her full biography here. Watch her acceptance of the award here.
She had a few words of advice for those interested in a career in the arts. “I was flashing back to my Senior Showcase and if I could give myself advice at that age, the first thing would be to dream big,” said DeMers, “because it has to start with a vision, you have to envision what you want to do. The road to it may be full of twists and turns, and take you in an unexpected direction, but you have to envision it first.
“The second thing I would have told myself is, growth comes through failure. You will receive a lot of rejection and you will make some mistakes, but the most growth I ever experienced as an artist is by trying things that were huge, coming up a little short, then getting into the practice room and figuring out how to get better next time,” she said.
Blickenstaff shone in Harker productions of “Urinetown: The Musical” (Lockstock) in 2007, “Annie Get Your Gun” (Frank Butler) in 2008 and “The Music Man” (Harold Hill) in 2009. After graduating from Harker with a certificate from the Conservatory along with his diploma, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California and has appeared in a number of shows, including a reoccurring role in Netflix’ “Dear White People.” Read his full biography here.Watch him accepting the award here.
His advice for those interested in a career in the arts? “Trust yourself,” Blickenstaff said, “not just believe in yourself, but trust yourself and go out there and pursue it.”
And he added a few kind words for those who helped launch him. “Harker really truly is one of the driving forces behind me pursuing a life in the arts,” Blickenstaff said. “I would be nowhere in the arts without Harker and the amazing Harker family and the Harker faculty.”
Life in the Arts awardees are those alumni who have the character, talent, drive and determination to pursue their passion as their livelihood. Inductees come from the stage, screen, classroom, backstage and rehearsal halls. They are passionate about their art and create at the highest level within their domain.
“Life in the Arts inductees are not necessarily ‘stars’ in the performing arts like we think of on stage or screen,” said Lang-Ree. “We may come to recognize their names, and we may never see their names in lights, but they are living out their own dreams and that is what we honor.”
A permanent location to display annual winners is currently in progress and will be unveiled at next year’s presentation.
Two of Harker’s performing arts alumni were named inaugural awardees of Harker’s Life in the Arts awards on Friday at the annual Senior Showcase, the celebration of those graduating with a Conservatory certificate along with their diploma. Gabrielle DeMers ’03 and D.J. Blickenstaff ’09 were honored for their commitment to their careers as performers as a group of family, friends, former teachers and administrators looked on.
DeMers was in the second high school graduating class at Harker and was part of the effort to create the Harker Conservatory. She had major roles in “Little Shop of Horrors” in 2001 and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 2002, and she remains the only Conservatory graduate to major in both vocal music and theater.
DeMers holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and a Master of Music in opera performance from the University of Maryland, College Park. As a member of the Maryland Opera Studio, she sang the title role of Sandrina in Mozart’s “La Finta Giardiniera” and Tatyana in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.” Read her full biography here. Watch her acceptance of the award here.
She had a few words of advice for those interested in a career in the arts. “I was flashing back to my Senior Showcase and if I could give myself advice at that age, the first thing would be to dream big,” said DeMers, “because it has to start with a vision, you have to envision what you want to do. The road to it may be full of twists and turns, and take you in an unexpected direction, but you have to envision it first.
“The second thing I would have told myself is, growth comes through failure. You will receive a lot of rejection and you will make some mistakes, but the most growth I ever experienced as an artist is by trying things that were huge, coming up a little short, then getting into the practice room and figuring out how to get better next time,” she said.
Blickenstaff shone in Harker productions of “Urinetown: The Musical” (Lockstock) in 2007, “Annie Get Your Gun” (Frank Butler) in 2008 and “The Music Man” (Harold Hill) in 2009. After graduating from Harker with a certificate from the Conservatory along with his diploma, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California and has appeared in a number of shows, including a reoccurring role in Netflix’ “Dear White People.” Read his full biography here.Watch him accepting the award here.
His advice for those interested in a career in the arts? “Trust yourself,” Blickenstaff said, “not just believe in yourself, but trust yourself and go out there and pursue it.”
And he added a few kind words for those who helped launch him. “Harker really truly is one of the driving forces behind me pursuing a life in the arts,” Blickenstaff said. “I would be nowhere in the arts without Harker and the amazing Harker family and the Harker faculty.”
Life in the Arts awardees are those alumni who have the character, talent, drive and determination to pursue their passion as their livelihood. Inductees come from the stage, screen, classroom, backstage and rehearsal halls. They are passionate about their art and create at the highest level within their domain.
“Life in the Arts inductees are not necessarily ‘stars’ in the performing arts like we think of on stage or screen,” said Lang-Ree. “We may come to recognize their names, and we may never see their names in lights, but they are living out their own dreams and that is what we honor.”
A permanent location to display annual winners is currently in progress and will be unveiled at next year’s presentation.
The upper school campus became an eveningland of lights, music and fun on Saturday night, as Harker held the 125th Anniversary Gala, its first gala since 2016. Held in the new athletic center and branching out to the Rothschild Performing Arts Center’s Patil Theater, more than 370 parents, alumni, faculty and staff were feted with custom videos, singing, live music, dancers, top-drawer food and drink, a hot band and great company.
Actor D.J. Blickenstaff ’09 and opera singer Gabrielle DeMers ’03 brought their special talents to their alma mater for the evening, along with a host of current student performers.
The gala, reformed and resurrected following the opening of the new athletic center (2017) and Rothschild Performing Arts Center (2018), was also the final major event in Harker’s 125th anniversary celebration. Suspended during construction, the event took place in the newest portion of the upper school campus, opening with the show in the Patil Theater at 6:30 p.m.
The Gala Show was emceed, and included a special performance, by Blickenstaff (“Dear White People,” “Colony” and “Catching a Break”). Segments highlighting aspects of Harker’s programs were enhanced by historical photos and related performances by the Harker Jazz Band, Varsity Dance Troupe, Cantilena, Dance Fusion and Downbeat.
DeMers, a professional opera singer, sang the tour de force aria “The Jewel Song” from Gounod’s “Faust.” The show’s finale brought back Blickenstaff and DeMers, and culminated in – for the first time ever – all of Harker’s vocal, dance and instrumental groups performing together, including the middle school’s Concert Choir; boys hip-hop group, Kinetic Krew; and Showstoppers, the grade 7-8 dance troupe. Head of School Brian Yager shared a few remarks and announced the launch of the school’s new 125th Gift Initiative.
Following the show, guests moved to the athletic center’s Zhang Gym, now deep in party trim, for cocktails and more entertainment, including an auction.
Master of Ceremonies Jeff Draper welcomed attendees and led them through some games. Hors d’oeuvres and drinks were available in a beautifully decorated area on the gym floor, where guests could bid on auction items and try to win jewelry and wine. The evening’s food was prepared by the outstanding Harker culinary staff lead by Chef Steve Martin.
During dinner, Draper introduced a tribute to the seniors, which included some recorded memories by students and a slide show of every member of the Class of 2019. The event really got swinging after dinner as the Cosmo Alleycats brought their special brand of music to the dance floor. Other features of the evening included a special 125th anniversary photo booth with cool props where guests could take selfies or have a portrait taken.
The whole extravaganza was made possible by many kind donors, including presenting sponsors Rao and Rohini Mulpuri, and Fermi Wang and Jean Aida Kung. Gold sponsors were Atiq Raza and Nandini Saraiya of Reveti Jewels Inc., and Bobby and Ann Johnson, as well as an anonymous donor. Gold group sponsorship included DJ and Devika Patil, Vik and Roma Ghai, Amrita and Sunit Mukherjee, Priya and Shiva Shivakumar, and Suneela Muddu and Muddu Sudhakar.
Silver sponsors were Neeraj and Anisha Gupta; Nikki Lin and Brian Duff; and Yoko, leok SiTou and Tony Lau. Bronze sponsors were Ganesh and Sunitha Krishna, Robert Lee & Associates LLP, Devcon Construction Inc., and Vivek Thoppay, managing director at Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.
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.
On Nov. 28, the Harker Speaker Series relaunched after an extended hiatus with an appearance by entrepreneur and author Magdalena Yeşil, a first investor and founding board member of Salesforce. Interviewed by junior Mahi Kolla, a student in Harker’s incubator program, Yeşil discussed her latest book, 2017’s “Power Up: How Smart Women Win in the New Economy.”
The book was spurred by stories Yeşil read of women having bad experiences in the tech industry. Fearing that more women would not want seek a career in technology, she decided to take action. “I felt that it was my responsibility to tell my story as well as other women’s stories,” she said. Yeşil interviewed 27 women for the book, sharing challenges and success stories of women in the industry in what she hopes to be a “very pragmatic, very practical book to inspire young women.”
Yeşil also shared some instructive stories, such as the time she had dinner with her 31-year-old niece, who asked what Yeşil was doing at the same age. Yeşil responded that she was unemployed at the time. “I became an entrepreneur because I couldn’t find a job,” she said. “I had to create a job for myself.” After interviewing at several companies, she decided “to recreate myself by making myself an expert in an area where a lot of people were not experts.” That area turned out to be the internet, which at the time was primarily the domain of universities and the government.
After the talk, Yeşil took some questions from the audience and offered advice to young entrepreneurs on what challenges they could expect in their careers. She stressed the importance of finding co-founders and advised students not to get discouraged when generating funds, explaining that venture capitalists will predict incorrectly “no matter what or how brilliant the idea is.”
Yeşil also spoke briefly about her latest startup, which uses artificial intelligence to upload loan documents via smartphones, drastically improving the approval process.
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.