The lower school library department’s 19th Annual Ogre Awards had a science fiction spin this year, with the very existence of humanity being threatened by alien beings from the Dewey Decimal System.
On the afternoon of March 19, the Bucknall gym became the futuristic setting for “The BKN Millennium Eagle,” the alien starship commanded by Captain Clark (aka lower school librarian Kathy Clark).
The plot? The aliens planned to demolish Earth to make way for a new intergalactic superhighway. But first, Clark and her crew (aka fellow librarian Katrina Nye, along with the grade 2 homeroom teachers) decide to research earthlings and assess if they might be worth saving. (To conduct their findings, they used the “super 3” research techniques taught in the lower school library.)
“The heart of any civilization lives in the stories they pass down to their children. So now it is up to the characters from our folk and fairy tales to make the case for all humanity. They will teach our alien visitors about our hopes and fears, morals and values, strengths and weaknesses. Perhaps we are not so different from our alien brothers and sisters after all! Can our stories save humanity or will the aliens close the book on Earth?” asks the program for the Ogre Awards (informally known as “The Ogres”), summing up the show’s clever premise.
Performed by grade 2 students (otherwise known as the Ogre Academy), the awards show was dedicated to the characters of 21 classic folk and fairy tales, as well as the storytellers who created them. The beloved production was created by former library director Enid Davis. Since her retirement three years ago, the library department has proudly carried on the tradition of producing The Ogres with Danny Dunn, technical director of the Bucknall Theater. Dunn now serves as both the show’s writer and director.
“This year is an homage to science fiction – our own modern fairy tales,” explained Dunn, adding that The Ogres are also an important part of the library curriculum. “The kids are bringing the folk and fairy tales they learned to life!” she enthused.
In addition to her role as the alien captain of the research vessel, mistress of ceremonies Clark was in charge of The Ogre’s educational aspect, telling the stories to the students, leading them in discussions and assisting them in voting on their favorites. Her son, Daniel Clark ’10, served as stage manager (and formerly played the role of Anansi the spider in his grade 2 Ogres many years ago).
The second graders enthusiastically portrayed the show’s cast of characters and creatures from the folklore of cultures around the world, including enchanted royalty, witches, fools, tricksters, heroines, villains and siblings.
All but one of The Ogre Awards are bestowed upon fairytale characters. A special Ogre Award is given each year to a member of the Harker community who provides exceptional service or support to the Harker libraries. This year that honor went to the lower school facilities department. Maintenance director Dan Rohrer accepted the 2015 Special Ogre Award for Lifetime Achievement on behalf of his team, many of whom joined him onstage. Another highlight of the Ogre Awards was the much-anticipated Best Folk or Fairy Tale Award, which this year went to the Spanish tale “The Water of Life.”
Production for the show was made possible by The Harker Federation of Planets, along with a dedicated team of faculty, staff and parent volunteers.
Concluding the show, Sarah Leonard, primary school head, made a surprise guest appearance as the Grand Arch Chancellor of Intergalactic Transportation, whose job it was to make the final determination on the fate of the earth. Thankfully, it was determined that the wish for a happy ending is universal, and the earth was saved … ensuring that humankind, as well as The Ogres, will go on!
Members of the Harmonics middle school performance group and Dance Fusion, comprising lower and middle school students, were thrilled to perform at CreaTV San Jose’s 2014 “CreaTiVe Awards Gala,” presented by TiVo, on Jan.10.
The fifth-annual formal evening event took place at the California Theatre in downtown San Jose and is slated to air on channel 30 in San Jose/Campbell on Jan. 17 at 7 p.m.
Dance Fusion instructor Gail Palmer called it “an honor” for the students to be featured in such a high-profile show. Harmonics and Dance Fusion each performed one song during the gala, which pays tribute to Bay Area video makers. A VIP reception preceded the awards show, where winners in 10 categories were announced.
“I thought it was really cool that we got to meet local people in the business,” recalled Harmonics performer Kelsey Wu, grade 8.
Other students said it was fun to be on TV and a great performance opportunity. Grade 8 student Aryana Far called the night “a very different experience from our normal shows.” She added that the audience was very supportive.
Founded in 2007, CreaTV San Jose is a member-based, nonprofit community media center that helps the residents, businesses, schools and organizations in San Jose to effectively communicate their message to a broader audience using our public and education television and Internet channels.
Five Harker singers successfully auditioned for the California American Choral Directors Association’s All-State Honor Choir. Ishanya Anthapur, grade 12, was named to the mixed choir; Madhu Karra and Sahana Narayanan, both grade 11, earned spots on the women’s choir; and Ashwin Rao, grade 10, and Gurutam Thockchom, grade 11, joined the men’s choir. Earlier this year, Anthapur and Narayanan were named to ACDA’s Regional Honor Choir.
Rehearsals are tentatively scheduled to begin in March for a special performance at the First United Methodist Church of Pasadena on March 28.
Harker performing arts groups had a big presence at the Santana Row tree lighting ceremony, “Light Up the Row,” on Nov. 18. Seven groups performed at the event, which was attended by thousands of people. The students practiced for weeks to prepare for the event, and Harker students comprised more of the evening’s performers than those from any other school. This was the first Santana Row tree lighting to feature Vivace, the middle school mixed choir, which performed The Beach Boys’ “Melekalikimaka.” Also present were a variety of middle and upper schools dance groups, including the upper school’s junior varsity and varsity dance squads, the grade 7-8 girls dance group Showstoppers and the grade 7-8 boys dance group High Voltage. Each of the groups performed two sets, including the upper school show choir Downbeat, which did a funny, Tim Burton-esque take on the holiday mainstay “Deck the Halls.”
The Harker Conservatory modernized Shakespeare’s popular tale of love and enchantment in its production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” which played at the Blackford Theater Oct. 30-Nov. 1. Director Jeff Draper brought the comedy into the present day, staging the play in a city park setting that occupied the majority of the theater floor, with scenic designer Paul Vallerga strategically placing signs of urbanization throughout: a picnic bench here, a swingset there. This unorthodox set drew the audience closer to the story and also gave them a more well-rounded view of the cast.
Harker’s upper school players buoyantly unfurled the story of arranged marriages, mistaken identities, magical formulas and theatrical ineptitude, giving the play just the right amount of whimsy and charm. Carol Clever’s costume design put the human characters in modern dress while the mischievous, magical fairies were draped in garb that ranged from the regal to the outlandish.
Upper school vocal groups delighted an evening audience in the Nichols Hall auditorium on Nov. 13 with “Ad Amore: Love as a Light,” featuring Bel Canto, Camerata, Guys’ Gig and Cantilena. Bel Canto, directed by Jennifer Sandusky, opened with Michael Praetorius’ “Anima Mea,” the first of a series of songs by European composers, which included the traditional French song “Brilla Brilla Piccola Stella” and “Funiculi, Funicula” by Luigi Denza.
Camerata, the upper school’s mixed chamber ensemble directed by Susan Nace, opened with a pair of hymns – “Barechu” by Salamone Rossi and “Alleluia” by Michael Praetorius – and concluded its set with Adriano Banchieri’s “Contrapunto bestiale alla mente,” which had its singers imitating the sounds of animals over a nonsensical poem sung by the basses.
In a slight departure from its usual fare, the student-run boys group Guys’ Gig began with the traditional “Gaudeamus Igitur,” with an arrangement by Johannes Brahms. Alex Henshall, grade 11, then sang solo on “McDonald’s Girl” by the Harvard Din and Tonics.
Closing the evening was the women’s choir Cantilena, also directed by Nace, who began with the concert’s namesake, “Ad Amore” by Lee Kesselmann, and continued with “Suscepit Israel” from Bach’s “Magnificat.”Following a rendition of Franz Biebl’s haunting “Ave Maria,” Cantilena ended with Greg Jasperse’s dynamic and uplifting “Voice Dance.”
Middle school thespians found themselves in a motley collection of roles in this year’s middle school fall play, Alan Haehnel’s “The Unfinished.” Directed by Monica Colletti, this one-act comedy found its characters at the mercy of a writer (Alexander Kumar, grade 6) who has not yet finished their stories, essentially imprisoning them in his mind.
When the innocent Melisande (Claire Russell, grade 7) enters their already-crowded world, the characters are forced to examine the significance of a newcomer. The ever-cynical Guy (Haris Hosseini, grade 8) and the hopeful Narrator (Claire Newman, grade 8) disagree on the likelihood that they will ever be realized, while the surly Janitor (Max MacKinnon, grade 7) simply wishes they would all leave. In the end, the wide variety of character archetypes, including the Bride and Groom (Dilara Ezer and Matthew Hajjar, both grade 8), the Cheerleader (Ellie Lang-Ree, grade 8) and the Clown (Jai Bahri, grade 7), find themselves freed through the Writer’s clever inclusion of the mall in one manuscript – a play titled “The Unfinished.”
Paul Vallerga’s set design was appropriately sparse for this particularly character-driven story. Carol Clever’s costume design was also simple but effective, making the characters appropriately recognizable.
A number of students successfully auditioned for two American Choral Directors Association Coastal Region Honor Choirs. Ishanya Anthapur, grade 12, Madhu Karra, grade 11, and Krishna Bheda and Jessica Susai, both grade 9, earned spots in the women’s choir, while Maya Nandakumar, grade 12, Sahana Narayanan and Gurutam Thockchom, both grade 11, and Ashwin Rao, grade 10, made the cut for the mixed choir. According to upper school music teacher Susan Nace, 350 singers auditioned and 247 were selected. Last year, five Harker students earned honor choir spots.
“The regional honor choir is the first step in the graduated process of going to other more advanced levels,” said Nace. “The next levels are All State (California) and National Honor Choirs.” Each audition had students sing a solo piece and test their proficiency in sight reading and ear training.
The students will perform with the Coastal Region Honor Choir on Nov. 22 at 2pm at the First United Methodist Church, located at 625 Hamilton Ave. in Palo Alto. Tickets will be sold at the door for $10.
This article was originally published in the fall 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Helen Wu, grade 12, who was selected to play and travel with the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America this summer, embarked on a two-week national tour in late July that included performances at Carnegie Hall, Seiji Ozawa Hall in Massachusetts, Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago, Green Music Center at Sonoma State University, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and more. Wu is one of only three violinists from California who were selected to join the prestigious orchestra this summer!
“This is one of the greatest accomplishments and honors a Harker instrumentalist has ever achieved, so I’m really proud to share it with you,” said Chris Florio, leader of The Harker School Orchestra.
Five middle school students successfully auditioned for spots in the Stanford Jazz Workshop Giant Steps All-Star Band. Students who were accepted are flutist Donna Boucher and double bassist Connie Xu, both grade 8, saxophonist Grant Miner, grade 7, and tenor saxophonist Paul Kratter and guitarist Arushi Saxena, both grade 6.
In addition, double bassist Anika Fuloria and trumpeter Leland Rossi, both grade 6, received recognition for their abilities on their respective instruments.
The band comprises 20 members, who were judged on such qualities as musicianship, improvisational ability, music theory knowledge and technique. Band members will rehearse once a week in preparation for a concert that will take place at Stanford University in December.