The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

Students attended the 2021 Conservatory Kick-Off on Wednesday in the Patil Theater. Multiple teachers announced upcoming events such as the Fall Play and Dance Production and new classes.

Performing arts students attend the 2021 school year Conservatory Kick-Off

by Sally Zhu, A&E and Lifestyle Editor August 27, 2021

Students attended the Conservatory Kick-Off for the 2021-22 school year in the Patil Theater on Wednesday, a mandatory event for students interested or involved in any performing arts at Harker. The Kick-Off...

Austin Killam (12), who pursued the musical theater discipline, holds up a pair of boots in his Senior Showcase performance of Step One from the musical Kinky Boots. The Senior Showcase was live streamed on May 13.

Senior Showcase celebrates certificate program students, reveals future productions

by Aastha Mangla and Alysa Suleiman May 19, 2021

Twenty-two seniors marked the end of their tenure with the upper school conservatory’s certificate program during Senior Showcase on May 13, a livestreamed event that celebrated their dedication to and...

Twenty-five-year-old JJ Niemann is a Broadway performer who has appeared in The Book of Mormon and the recent TikTok musical Ratatouille the Musical.” After Broadway shut down March 2020 due to the pandemic, Niemann turned towards TikTok to continue showcasing his acting, singing and dancing as well as behind-the-scenes of Broadway life. Niemann has rose to popularity on the platform, with over 660 thousand followers on TikTok.

Where Broadway meets TikTok: A performer’s journey from stage to screen

by Sally Zhu, Humans of Harker Profiler May 12, 2021

“Remy, the ratatouille, the rat of all my dreams. I praise you, my ratatouille. May the world remember your name.”  The original movie “Ratatouille,” featuring the loveable and wholesome Remy...

Seniors Ruya Ozveren, Alex Kumar, and Vaishnavi Murari sing in the closing scene of the spring musical Les Misérables with the entire cast on March 19. Unlike the format of the Fall Play and Student Directed Showcase (SDS), Performing Arts Director Laura Lang-Ree converted the musical into a movie, where multiple video angles are used and the audio is recorded beforehand.

It’s a wrap: “Les Miz” cast to release movie production of Spring Musical

by Aastha Mangla and Michelle Liu April 7, 2021

As the third theater performance following the start of the pandemic, "Les Misérables" hints at hope in a time of loss and revolution. To bring this story to life, the cast and crew of the Spring Musical...

After Downbeats performance, the upper school Jazz Band & Lab Band directed by Dave Hart played Happy by Pharrell Williams and arranged by Mike Tomaro.

Conservatory wishes the community happy holidays

by Emily Tan, Features Editor December 13, 2020

On Friday Dec. 11, the upper school community watched Harker’s middle school and upper school performing arts groups during the assembly period. Orchestra members faded in and out of the screen, the...

Kinetic Krew dances outside during a section of their virtual White Flag performance. The video was shown during the school meeting on Dec. 3.

No retreat, no surrender

by Alysa Suleiman, A&E Editor December 11, 2020

In wartime, a white flag represents an ultimate, definite concession. It calls the surrender, requests the truce and cements the defeat. But now, the pandemic has waged a war against normalcy, threatening...

The Conservatory program held its virtual kick-off on Aug. 26, introducing an unusual year for the arts. “When we had one day to turn around and teach online, it was such an unknown,” said Susan Nace, vocal music teacher and director of Camerata and Cantilena. “Where we are now, its not as scary, and were seeing a lot of possibilities because we dont have that fear holding us back.”

“Art has prevailed”: Performing arts prepare versions of shows depending on COVID-19

by Sara Yen, Winged Post Editor-in-Chief September 8, 2020

The end of last year was a devastating time for much of the upper school performing arts department. Both the orchestra trip to Carnegie Hall and the spring musical “Damn, Yankees” were canceled due...

A poster advertising the Nanoseed benefit concert, scheduled for this Friday. Nanoseed, founded in 2014, is a student-run nonprofit organization dedicated to alleviate poverty in areas of rural China. There are twelve branches across California, each of which is headed by three students at the school where the branch is located.

“Give to grow”: Nanoseed Benefit Concert aims to alleviate poverty in rural China

by Lauren Liu, Reporter March 11, 2020

After months of planning, dozens of audition files and weeks of promotion, the Nanoseed Benefit Concert will bring music and dance to the Rothschild Performing Arts Center this Friday starting at 7 pm.  Tickets...

Peter Galen, played by Alex Kumar (11) in Booby Trap leans against a piece of wood as he ponders his fate and reflects upon his past. Another soldier, acted by Shray Alag (11), examines the area surrounding him.

Performing arts presents annual Student Directed Showcase

by Sriya Batchu and Lauren Liu January 14, 2020

After a semester of preparation and hours upon hours of rehearsals, the Student Directed Showcase (SDS), featuring four plays, took the stage last Friday and Saturday night. in the Rothschild Performing...

Members of the upper school all-male dance team Kinetic Krew perform during the annual BAD concert.

Annual BAD concert from student performers brings holiday cheer to all campuses

by Alysa Suleiman, Sports Reporter December 16, 2019

The luxuriously heavy crimson drapes slowly unfurl to the wings of the stage, revealing a vast ensemble of seated students, dressed in identical cream-gray sweatshirts, Santa hats or reindeer ears and...

The Harker Dance Company dances to “Jingle Bells” by Gwen Stefani at this years Santana Row tree lighting ceremony, which was held on Tuesday in the south end of Santana Row. The ceremony opened with a pre-show, followed by a mainstage performance that started at 6:30 p.m.

Harker performing arts groups dazzle audience at Santana Row tree lighting ceremony

by Lucy Ge, Assistant News Editor November 22, 2019

On Tuesday, Nov. 19, upper school performing arts groups Kinetic Krew, Downbeat, and Harker Dance Company all performed at the annual Santana Row tree lighting ceremony. Harker Dance Company danced...

Sarina Sharma (11), playing Ginette, smiles as she rests her head on Nicky Kriplanis (11) shoulder in the prologue of the fall play. The play, Almost, Maine, was performed between Oct. 24 and Oct. 26 by two casts of students in the Patil Theater.

Love, loss and some laughter in between: Two casts of students perform in fall play “Almost, Maine”

by Sally Zhu and Lauren Liu November 2, 2019

After weeks of preparation and a dress rehearsal on Oct. 23, two casts of students told tales of love and loss in their performances of the fall play, “Almost, Maine,'' between Oct. 24 and Oct. 26 in...

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