![“[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)
Choir groups bring audiences around the world in ‘Music from the Eastern Hemisphere’
Cantilenans Ananya Das (10), Miki Mitarai (11) and Lucy Feng (12) sing “National Weather Report” in winter clothing. Cantilena closed the concert with this song to remind the audience about the warm winters in California.
Harker’s Bel Canto, Camerata and Cantilena along with debuting groups, Dolce Voce and Rhapsody performed in the show ‘Music from the Eastern Hemisphere’ on Nov. 10 in the Patil Theater.
The concert featured music from many different countries to bring audiences around the world and introduce music from various cultures. Camerata, a vocal ensemble featuring soprano, alto, tenor and bass, opened the concert with a French song, “Come, Join in Singing” to bring the audiences into the show.
Debuting in the show, the new choir ensemble Rhapsody followed with a performance of “The Wellerman,” a trending TikTok song originating from New Zealand, followed with well-known traditional Irish song “Danny Boy.” “The Wellerman” featured solos by Krish Arora (9), Varun Bhupathi (10), Lucy Anderson (11), Sukrit Kalsi (12), Luke Zeng (11), Taylor Summers (9), Aditya Ramanathan (9) and Arjun Gurjar (11) and tells a tale about sailors aboard the boats of the Weller Brothers’ shipping company pursuing a whale.
“[Rhapsody] is a tenor bass choir. With any new thing, you want to make a good first impression,” Varun said. “This semester for choir was a trial run for [Rhapsody] and it was deciding where to take the choir groups from here on out. I had to perform with some of these guys before and I’m friends with most of them. As a group, we all got along super naturally.”
Next, Bel Canto, the foundation vocal ensemble, performed “Da Pacem Domine” and “Ah, Poor Bird” accompanied by Ipsita Mandal (11) on the piano. “Da Pacem Domine” is a French song that translates to “Give us peace, O Lord, in our days” and is a staple of Christian worship.
Dolce Voce, a soprano and alto group, performed a Malay song “JAM! Jom-Ayuh-Mari!” The words “jom,” “ayuh” and “mari” translate roughly to “Come, let’s go!” and the song features a catchy melody, aiming to represent a conversation between musicians.
“My favorite part was that [Dolce Voce] has variety,” Camerata member Saanvi Bhargava (10) said., “In Camerata, we could bond as a smaller group, but then in Dolce Voce, we could do different kinds of music because of the different voices we had from both Bel Canto and Camerata.”
After, Festival Chorus, a combined group of members from Bel Canto and Camerata, sang “TaReKiTa” from India, a fusion of both Indian Classical and western music and a piece where singers emulate the various sounds of Indian instruments.
Cantilena, the all-female choir, rounded off the show with five separate songs. They first performed a Persian song “We Have Come,” which was followed by “Barso Re,” an Indian song with Bollywood movements choreographed by upper school computer science teacher Anu Datar. They followed with “Erev Shel Shoshanim,” a romantic song from Israel, and Japanese song “Dona Nobis Pacem.”
Finally, Cantilena closed the show with “National Weather Report,” a song centered around Saratoga, California, bringing the audience from the taste of the different cultures around the world back to Harker’s local community. Cantilena members dressed in winter clothing and slowly removed puffy jacket layers as the song progressed, singing about the warmth of home.
“The concert was about diversity and how music comes from all parts of the world,” Saanvi said. “I love that there was diversity in the music because we don’t usually do a lot of South Asian music. We should learn to appreciate different types of music, different genres in different languages and from different cultures.”
Shiv Deokar (11) is the co-student life editor for the TALON Yearbook, and this is his third year on staff. This year, Shiv wants to take more pictures...
Yifan Li (12) is an Editor-in-Chief of the TALON Yearbook, and this is her fourth year on staff. This year, she hopes to further explore creative and unique...