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Harker Concert Series
Join us for our in-person series in our beautiful Rothschild Performing Arts Center, which opened in 2018. For more information about Harker or the Harker Concert Series, contact communications@harker.org.
We’re proud to highlight current and rising musical talent, most of whom also conduct master classes with our students. The evenings begin at 6 p.m. with complimentary hors d'oeuvres and beverages, as well as a cash bar for beer and wine. The shows begin at 7 p.m. The Harker Concert Series launched in 2010-11 as part of the school's ongoing commitment to share thoughtful, entertaining and engaging events with the greater Bay Area community.
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Watch Previous Concerts
2025-26 SEASON
Kirsten Edkins Quintet
Fri., Sept. 5, 2025 (7 p.m.)
Reception one hour prior to performance, with complimentary hors d’oeuvres and soft drinks, and cash bar for wine and beer.
A professional musician from the age of 16, Kirsten Edkins is a performer, bandleader, teacher, studio musician and accomplished recording artist. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Edkins has been a glowing fixture of the Los Angeles music scene for the past decade and a half. She has been a member of several Grammy Award-winning bands including the Bill Holman Big Band, John Daversa Band, John Beasley’s MONK’estra and the late composer Johnny Mandel’s band. Her television appearances include American Idol, The Late, Late Show, The Tonight Show and The Voice. As a performer in her own right, she has toured the U.S., Canada, South America and the Caribbean. Her first album, “Art & Soul,” featuring original compositions and collaboration with noted artists (Bob Sheppard, Larry Goldings), reached the top 15 on Jazz Week’s radio play charts. Her current release, Shapes and Sound (CoHearent Records) continues her exploration of her original voice and exquisite craft. As an educator, Edkins has taught at institutions like the Pasadena Conservatory of Music, the Bill Green Mentorship Program of the Los Angeles Jazz Society, the Monterey Jazz Camp and traveled the country to do guest artist appearances at several colleges such as Eastman and Butler University. In all of this, Edkins draws on her musical heroes, Eddie Harris, Joe Henderson, Joe Lovano, among others, and combines that inspiration with a desire to use music to empower, enrich and encourage players and lovers of music.
Calder Quartet
Fri., Nov. 7, 2025 (7 p.m.)
Program: Samuel Barber, Florence Price, Ben Johnston, BeethovenReception one hour prior to performance, with complimentary hors d’oeuvres and soft drinks, and cash bar for wine and beer.
Hailed as “superb” and “imaginative, skillful creators” by the New York Times, the Calder Quartet explores a broad spectrum of repertoire, striving to fulfill the composer’s vision in their performances. Winners of the prestigious 2014 Avery Fisher Career Grant, they are widely known for the discovery, commissioning, recording and mentoring of some of today’s best emerging composers. Recent highlights include Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Disney Hall, Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wigmore Hall, Barbican, Salzburg Festival, and the Sydney Opera House. The quartet has appeared on the late night talks shows of David Letterman, Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, and Craig Ferguson and had radio appearances on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic, Performance Today, WQXR New York, KUSC Los Angeles, Colorado Public Radio and NPR. In 2011 the Calder Quartet launched a non-profit dedicated to furthering its efforts in commissioning, presenting, recording, and education, collaborating with the Getty Museum, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, and the Barbican Centre in London. The quartet formed at USC’s Thornton School of Music and continued studies at the Colburn Conservatory of Music with Ronald Leonard, and at The Juilliard School, receiving the Artist Diploma in Chamber Music Studies as the Juilliard Graduate Resident String Quartet. The quartet regularly conducts master classes and has taught at the Colburn School, Oberlin, The Juilliard School, Cleveland Institute of Music, University of Cincinnati College Conservatory and USC's Thornton School of Music.
Seraph Brass
Fri., Feb. 27, 2026 (7 p.m.)
Reception one hour prior to performance, with complimentary hors d’oeuvres and soft drinks, and cash bar for wine and beer.
In its 11th season, Seraph Brass was founded by trumpet soloist Mary Elizabeth Bowden with a mission to showcase the excellence of women brass players and highlight musicians from marginalized groups, both in personnel and in programming. Winners of the American Prize in Chamber Music, the group has been praised for its “beautiful sounds" (American Record Guide), "fine playing” (Gramophone), and “staggeringly high caliber of performance” (Textura). The ensemble tours nationally and globally, and the 2024-25 season highlights included performances in Peru, Mexico, South Korea and across the U.S., as well as residencies at Yale University School of Music and The Frost School of Music in Miami. Members of Seraph Brass are passionate about music education and hold teaching positions at the University of North Texas, Shenandoah Conservatory, Texas State University, and Texas Lutheran University. In each of their tours, the group works to provide educational outreach to local schools. Seraph Brass performs a diverse body of repertoire, ranging from original transcriptions to newly commissioned works and core classics. Their newest album was released in March and features new works for brass quintet and compositions by Jeff Scott, Reena Esmail, Kevin Day and Kevin McKee. Seraph Brass is a Yamaha Performing Group.
Another exciting new season will be announced in September! Those of you who are email subscribers will get an announcement notice. If you’re not on the mailing list, you can subscribe here. We look forward to enjoying another amazing season of music with you!
Harker Concert Series Committee
