Kevin Zhang

Harshini Chaturvedula (12) waves her hand as she conducts a the string ensemble’s rendition of “Adoration” by Florence Price. “I’m always in admiration of the talented, friendly musicians around me,” Harshini said. “Everyone contributes to this community and makes it the amazing group it is for all of us.”

Harmonies greet guests entering Patil Theater, as the glint of instruments sparkle among student performers illuminated onstage. Intermittent notes echo throughout the venue while musicians tune their instruments and prepare for the opening performance. Although the concert has not started, audience members still listen attentively as the precursive tunes grace their ears. 

Student producers Hanz Baek (9), Iona Liu (9), Jessica Wang (11) and Edis Mesic (12) organized the Orchestra’s Chamber Music Concert on Feb. 23. The program showcased over fifteen distinct ensemble performances ranging from classical pieces to student-composed works.  

The concert commenced with the wind and percussion section’s rendition of Leonard Bernstein’s “A Simple Song,” conducted by viola player Savitha Satish (10). Afterward, the four student producers spoke on the efforts that went into the show. They arranged the concert order, reviewed all piece proposals and planned the stage layout.

“The idea of having a student-produced concert really goes to show how much the Harker orchestra is willing to give students their own voice and elevate their voices,” Edis said. “I think that it’s really special trusting us to help with a lot of the process. Giving us the keys and letting us roll and just letting us play out there — it was so cool to let us ride free and show our talents.”

Duets followed, including Aaron Ma (9) and Hanz Baek’s (9) violin performance of “3 Concertant Duets” by Charles Auguste de Bériot and Joe Li (12) and Dustin Miao’s (12) string performance of “Humoresque” by Antonín Dvořák, as well as “Andante Et Rondo” by Franz Doppler performed by Jessica Wang (11) and Ellie Schmidt (12) on the flute.

Between each performance, students provided short commentaries on upcoming pieces, such as Mozart’s “String Quartet No. 19 ‘Dissonance.’” Viola co-associate principal Kabir Ramzan (12) explained how its title originated from its uncharacteristic opening style. 

Ensemble performances for movements 1, 2 and 4 of Franz Danzi’s “Wind Quintet No.1” marked the halfway point of the concert, leading into an intermission period. Afterward, the concert continued where it left off, beginning with the String Ensemble playing “Adoration” by Florence Price. Viola principal Harshini Chaturvedula (12) conducted the performance.

“I’m always in admiration of the talented, friendly musicians around me, from those who just picked up their instruments this year to those who’ve practically been playing since they were in the womb,” Harshini said. “Everyone contributes to this community and makes it the amazing group it is for all of us.”

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Kevin Zhang

Seniors Joe Li and Dustin Miao play Antonín Dvořák’s "Humoresque" on the violin and cello. The Chamber Concert featured four duet performances through the evening.

Frosh Sylvia Chen performed  “井岡山上太陽紅 (Sun is Red over the JingGang Mountains)” by Zhao Man Qin played on the guzheng, a traditional Chinese plucked zither. After a cello and trumpet trio, violin duet and mixed strings quartet performances, the concert wrapped up with another one of Dvořák’s works, “Piano Quintet No. 2.” To conclude, upper school instrumental teacher Jaco Wong delivered a speech. 

“Every night, I’m watching the success of the students” Wong said. “They started from proposing the music to some composing and some learning how to conduct. There’s a lot of event planning skills that come with this, including how to manage the setup and what pieces should go before what. I’m so glad the students were able to have the opportunity to produce this beautiful concert.”