Hotchkiss Philharmonic returns Nov. 2

The Hotchkiss School will kick off its 2024-2025 Philharmonic season on Saturday, Nov. 2, with a special performance headlined by internationally acclaimed violinist Siqing Lu. The concert will start at 7 p.m. and will run till 8:30 p.m. in the Katherine M. Elfers Hall.

The Hotchkiss Philharmonic was established in 2018 by Barbara Walsh Hostetter (class of ‘77) and Amos Hostetter to provide gifted young musicians with an opportunity to perform alongside successful professionals. The concerts remain free and open to all community members—no registration required.

The November Philharmonic will be marked by a solo from influential Chinese violinist Siqing Lu. With over five decades of experience, Lu made history in 1987 as the first Asian violinist to win the prestigious International Paganini Violin Competition. He has since served as the first Chinese soloist-in-residence with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 2019-2020 and has been a judge for numerous prestigious musical competitions. He is currently the Artistic Director of both the National Center for the Performing Arts May Festival in Beijing and the Siqing Lu Shenzhen Futian International String Festival.

At Hotchkiss, Lu will perform Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 – one of the most popular violin concertos in solo violin repertoire.

Complementing Lu’s performance, Fabio Wirkowski, a head of the Hotchkiss visual and performing arts department and a founder of The Hotchkiss Philharmonic Orchestra, will conduct Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet and Mascagni’s Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana, an Italian one act opera.

Hotchkiss student musicians, 22 in total, who are a part of the orchestra will play the two pieces along with local musical professionals and teachers.

The next performance as a part of the Philharmonic season will be orchestrated on April 3, 2025. The upcoming concert on Nov. 2 will mark the beginning of a season rich in musical excellence and inspiring performances at Hotchkiss.

Latest News

From research to recognition: Student project honors pioneering Black landowner

Cornwall Consolidated School seventh graders Skylar Brown, Izabella Coppola, Halley Villa, Willow Berry, Claire Barbosa, Willa Lesch, Vivianne DiRocco and Franco Aburto presented a group research project on the life of Naomi Freeman Wednesday, April 23. In attendance were U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., John Mills, president of Alex Breanne Corporation, Cornwall First Selectman Gordon Ridgway, Cornwall Selectman Jennifer Markow and CCS social studies teacher Will Vincent.

Photo by Riley Klein

CORNWALL — “In Cornwall you have made the decision that everyone here matters and everyone’s story is important,” said U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Waterbury, to the seventh grade class at Cornwall Consolidated School April 23.

Hayes was in attendance to celebrate history on Wednesday as the CCS students presented their group research project on the life of Naomi Cain Freeman, the first Black female landowner in Cornwall.

Keep ReadingShow less
Legal Notices - April 24, 2025

Town of Salisbury

Board of Finance

Keep ReadingShow less
Classifieds - April 24, 2025

Help Wanted

Experienced horse equestrian: to train three-year-old white Persian Mare for trail riding. 860-67-0499.

Help wanted: Small Angus Farm seeks reliable help for cattle and horses. Duties include feeding, fence repair, machine repair. Will train the right person. 860-671-0499.

Keep ReadingShow less