FALLS VILLAGE — Housatonic Valley Regional High School Principal Ian Strever said secretary Cindy Fuller, speaking with admiration of the class of 2025, summed it up perfectly when she said, “It’s great to know so many good people are going out into the world.”
At graduation ceremonies Friday night, June 13, the constant theme was the accomplishments of these 99 students; academically, athletically, socially and civically and what an outstanding class it was.
Standing on the front steps of the school on a beautiful spring evening, Strever said next week the building will return to bricks and mortar when these students, “who are vibrant, exciting and Dunkin-fueled” are gone. He spoke of the endurance portrayed by four members of the class who faced tragedies and incredible challenges, but handled them with courage beyond their years.
Region One Superintendent Melony Shanley-Brady assured the graduates, “Housatonic will always be a part of you.”
Salutatorian Tess Marks chose to speak on the subject of humanity, noting the international and domestic strife now being faced. “We are the hope of what is to come.” She said compromise is a lost art, with people only hearing, but not listening. “Don’t let the differences pull us apart. Why can’t they bring us together? We’re all inherently different, but that is what makes a successful community.”
As they always do, the two AFS students, Carlos “Charlie” Castellana Cruz from Colombia and Allegra Ferri from Italy, spoke with deep gratitude, emotion and eloquence about the year they spent at the school and how welcomed they were made to feel.
“Everything Housy did for me will go wherever I go,” said Cruz, while Ferri said, “This year reminded me of the human connection.”
Essayist Lola Moerschell talked about life being a series of trapeze swings.
Elinor Wolgemuth decorated her graduation cap with a colorful scene and the words “To The World We Dream About.”Patrick L. Sullivan
Valedictorian Manasseh Matsudaira gave a touching tribute to his dad who died this year. He said he was so engrossed in the college application process, he couldn’t bear to watch the 19 videos his father had recorded during the last year. “I missed the opportunity to bond and connect with my father.” He urged his classmates to not let ambition get in the way of relationships with others.
Matsudaira moved the audience when he said his dad, who was ever-present at all his soccer game, was not there to see him make an impressive goal.
Valedictorian Mannasseh Matsudaira spoke of ambition and relationships in his speech at HVRHS graduation Friday, June 13.Patrick L. Sullivan
The class chose Peter Vermilyea, the social studies department chairman, to be guest speaker. Using a phrase found in the school song written decades ago by Hattie Travis, he focused on the “greater work” that the students will do in their future. “Not more work. Not harder work. But greater work — work that matters. Work that impacts the world around you.”
Vermilyea said looking back will allow them to remember their firsts, so when the greater works ahead feel intimidating, remember them and reflect on the progress made.
“Look to what you and your classmates have achieved, collectively and individually, to understand what greater work is...Along the way you have demonstrated — and taught all of us about curiosity and enthusiasm, leadership and mental toughness, kindness, bravery and determination. You’ve shown each other and the rest of us what it means to be a community. And that’s no small thing,” Vermilyea said.
The Good Sportsmanship Awards went to Daniela Brennan and Kyle McCarron. The Good Citizenship Awards to Tess Marks, Madeline Collingwood and Elinor Wolgemuth. The Chamberlain Arts Achievement Awards to Andy Delgado and Ellanor Karcheski.
David Moran, head of the agriscience department, was presented the Community Award of Merit.
Contemporary chamber musicians, HUB, performing at The Clark.
MASS MoCA is known for its 20th-century holdings spread throughout a sprawling complex of industrial brick buildings. Installations by Sol LeWitt and James Turrell have permanent homes there. Just down the road in Williamstown, the Clark features masterworks by Winslow Homer, Frederic Remington, John Singer Sargent and Claude Monet.
But what visitors might not immediately associate with those established names is how deeply both institutions invest in art happening right now.
On Saturday afternoon, a panel of young artists discussed their relationships with art, identity and technology as part of MASS MoCA’s “Technologies of Relation” exhibition, which opened that evening. The artists represented a broad range of cultural backgrounds, drawing on ancestry while exploring the future of art and technology.
The work itself ran the gamut: wax relief paintings, stained glass, interactive video and sculptural installations. One immersive piece automated the traditional Armenian practice of reading fortunes from coffee grounds. Particularly striking were Roopa Vasudevan’s hand-drawn QR codes and Taeyoon Choi’s large-scale weavings of binary code.
Opening the same night was Zora J. Murff’s “RACE/HUSTLE.” Through photographs, paintings and installations, Murff explores the wide-ranging and sometimes violent implications of being Black in America today. Each piece — whether confronting the rise of white supremacy or examining stereotypes imposed on Black communities — carries razor-sharp visual commentary designed to unsettle.
Pelenakeke Brown’s “Reverb” (detail) at Mass MoCA. D.H. Callahan
On Sunday, the Clark continued the contemporary thread. A small exhibition of work by Raffaella della Olga, titled “Typescript,” features intricate patterns created using a typewriter on varied paper surfaces. The effect seems almost impossible until viewers watch a video of della Olga loading her typewriter with 140-grit sandpaper and typing in a hypnotic rhythm. Though the typewriter is considered obsolete technology, she continues to find new applications for it, completing some of the works in recent months.
Next door in the Clark auditorium, HUB New Music performed works written specifically for its unusual instrumentation: violin, cello, clarinet and flute. While that combination may not stand out to casual listeners, relatively little classical repertoire exists for it. The ensemble regularly commissions composers to expand the possibilities.
The results were striking. From the opening notes of Francisco del Pino’s “Passacaglia,” the quartet’s command and layered repetition pulled unexpected emotion from the audience.
After three pieces came the world premiere of Daniel Wohl’s “Mirage,” a roughly 25-minute work accompanied by digital blips, static and electronic textures evoking radio transmissions and UFO lore. Hearing four virtuoso musicians extract entirely new sounds from traditional instruments echoed the weekend’s larger theme: old tools made new again.
Like della Olga’s typewriter, Vasudevan’s QR codes or Murff’s charged imagery, the performances demonstrated that contemporary art often grows from familiar materials — reimagined.
The old masters will always draw visitors to these institutions. But when living artists command equal attention, this quiet corner of the Berkshires feels less like the middle of nowhere and more like a creative epicenter.
D.H. Callahan is a voice actor, creative director and trail steward. He lives with his artist wife in West Cornwall, Connecticut.
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