![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.jpg)
![“[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)
Orchestra and jazz band played in their final performance of the year at the Spring Instrumental Concert in the Patil Theater on May 1.
The concert served as a way for the instrumental department to honor the graduating seniors, who received flowers and gift bags at the end of the show. Instrumental teacher Jaco Wong also spoke about each graduating senior and their contributions to the program, sharing anecdotes and highlighting attributes like hard work and reliability.
Sophomore percussionist Vivian Wu joined the orchestra this year, and she cherished the opportunity to honor the seniors’ hard work and listen to their solo parts.
“This time we had some really complex repertoire, and I felt proud showing off what the seniors could do,” Vivian said. “There was a really strong sense of accomplishment because we did a lot in one year. I also felt really bittersweet because this would be my last time performing with them.”
Earlier that evening, the middle school orchestra performed in their own spring concert in the Patil Theater. Before the upper school show began, middle and high school orchestra members participated in a chamber music event, where small groups performed short quartet or quintet pieces together for attendees in the RPAC lobby.
The middle and upper school orchestras joined together onstage at the start of the show to perform “Nimrod” by Edward Elgar, filling the theater with the rich, lively music of the large cross-campus ensemble.
Junior Erika Wang composed the full-orchestra piece “Slate Fog, Lapis Waters” under the guidance of Wong and her extracurricular composition instructor. Erika debuted the piece during the concert, transforming the theater into a whimsical seascape with blue and purple lighting. The music featured dramatic strings, whispery wind instruments and the twinkling glockenspiel, a percussion instrument with tuned metal bars arranged in a keyboard layout.
Erika had created music for smaller chamber groups before, but never for a full orchestra. She described the elaborate process of layering various instruments in a score.
“Usually I would come up with a melody first, which is a lot of trial and error.” Erika said. “My composition teacher helped me a lot with deciding which instruments would blend well and what type of effect I wanted. I was really nervous going into the piece, but I was also very proud, and I was smiling pretty much the entire way through.”
In addition to Wong and instrumental teacher David Hart, student conductors Rohan Ramukumar (12), Patricia Li (9) and Savitha Satish (11) led the orchestra in four different pieces.
Earlier this year, all orchestra seniors competed in the Senior Concerto Competition for a chance to be featured in a concerto, a piece of classical music that highlights solo instruments accompanied by an orchestra. Concertmaster Andre Lu (12) and associate concertmaster Alex Zhong (12) won the competition and performed as soloists in “Navarra” by Pablo de Sarasate.
After their performance, orchestra members walked across the stage and each dropped a bag of chips in a pile at their feet, honoring the two seniors’ love of food.
The orchestra and jazz band closed off the concert with a high-energy rendition of “Spring Festival Overture” by Li Huanzhi.
Andre reflected on the lighthearted atmosphere of the night and cherished the opportunity to perform with the orchestra one last time before graduation.
“It’s a little sad when you think about it being my last concert, but then I remember how we played really great, so it doesn’t get as sad,” Andre said. “The last two pieces went really well. Even though we weren’t really together, there was a lot of spirit. We were having fun instead of stressing over if it was good or bad.”
