![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
The 2010 Winter Concert featured a split concert schedule for the first time between performers of the Upper School and of the Lower and Middle School.
The Jazz Band opened the Upper School portion of the concert to a full house, featuring vocals by Francesca Nagle (11) and saxophone solos by Andrew Liang (11) on alto “sax” and Aadithya Prakash (12) on tenor “sax.”
The Band played four songs: Moanin’. Blue Skies, Georgia on my Mind, and Malagueña.
“We had the energy that we needed, and we practiced a lot, so it really came out great,” Andrew said.
Though feeling sick at the start of the concert, Aadithya seemed to also have benefited from that energy.
“I thought I wasn’t going to pull through, but I just let my soul come out tonight, and so the solos were pretty amazing,” Aadithya said.
After a brief intermission, the Upper School Orchestra took the stage performing Smetana’s Overture from The Bartered Bride, the four movements of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.1 in G Minor, and Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No.5 to close the concert.
Larger than ever before, this year’s Upper School Orchestra is composed of 65 students; the musicians were quite excited about the performance.
“I’ve been in orchestra for a while now, since middle school, and originally we were like [28] people, and it’s been growing, it’s been getting big. I’d say it’s gotten pretty skilled, and it’s getting to be better every year,” Max Lan (11) said.
“It’s just so fulfilling to see the audience’s reaction to how we play after so much hard work,” Sonya Huang (12) said.
Commenting after the performance: “they pretty much lived up to my expectations. Everything worked out, and I was pretty happy,” Christopher Florio, Instrumental Teacher and Conductor, said.
The Upper School Orchestra will begin with a new program during the second semester in preparation for their trip to Los Angeles in the spring.
