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Hotchkiss students head to Carnegie Hall
Hotchkiss students head to Carnegie Hall
“Hotchkiss has a great reputation for strong academics and athletics, but not as many people know about our wonderful music and arts programs,” Witkowski said. “The generosity of Barbara and Amos Hostetter made so much possible here,” he added, referring to a major three-part gift from the couple in 2018 that significantly strengthened Hotchkiss’s music and arts programs.
“One thing that makes me so proud about this type of philanthropy is that people usually spend every dime on the bricks,” Witkowski said. “But we used about half for the building and then half for programming. Now we really operate like a mini conservatory here.” Students who study in the music program have access to two lessons a week, orchestra, music history and theory. “And we have an amazing music series here,” he said. “We’ve had the Guarneri String Quartet, Emerson, Lang Lang and Midori. And the concerts are all free because they’re part of the endowment. That makes me very proud.”
Fabio Witkowski, the Joanne Eastman Sohrweide Chair and director of music at Hotchkiss. Natalia Zukerman
To be chosen to perform at Carnegie Hall, students went through a competition process in December. About 20 students will have the opportunity to perform solo pieces, but to accommodate all the students, Witkowski arranged two pieces for small ensembles. “That way, everyone gets to play,” he said.
Annabelle Chu, from Hong Kong, is studying percussion at Hotchkiss and will be playing “Brazilian Landscape” by Ney Rosauro for solo vibraphone. “Usually, I do a sport. So, during the spring and fall, I do track and cross-country, respectively. Last year I did swimming in the winter, but I switched to music, which was great. Now I’m getting a lot more practice time — like two hours every day, and then on weekends, I get like three or four.”
Chu has only ever been outside Carnegie Hall. “When I was just wandering around the city,” she said. Asked how she will feel when she walks out on stage, she said, “I think I’ll be very nervous, but at the end, hopefully I’ll be very proud of myself.”
Senior Emma Liu is a pianist and is in the process of applying to conservatories that have joint programs. She has been to Carnegie Hall many times during her tenure at Hotchkiss and will be performing “Sonata No. 4” by Scriabin this year. Asked how much she has been practicing, she said, “Probably not as much as I should be, but I try to get in at least two hours a day.” Even though this will not be her first time at Carnegie Hall, when she walks out on the stage, Liu said, “Every time feels like the first time. I love being there with Hotchkiss students because it’s an incredible opportunity. I don’t think there’s any other place like Hotchkiss that does this kind of thing. So, yeah, we’re very, very lucky.”
Figure by Eli Sher, grade 6.
Patrick L. Sullivan
“Lee H. Kellogg Emerging Artists Exhibition 2026” will be on display through Friday, Feb.6, with 71 art works from Kellogg students in grades K through 8.
Collage by Gabriel Thomen, grade 7.Patrick L. Sullivan
Norfolk artist Katie Atkinson in her studio with her painting ‘Tree of Hope.’Her show, “Seasons of Painting,” opens at the Norfolk Library Jan. 31.
Paul Atkinson
The show will be on display at the Norfolk Library from Jan. 31 to Feb. 25, with an opening reception on Feb. 1 from 4 to 6 p.m. On Feb. 15 at 3 p.m., Atkinson will give a presentation and answer questions about her work.
“I remember loving painting and drawing as a child. I knew that I wanted to be an artist in elementary school,” Atkinson recalled.
After graduating from college, she lived in New York City, taking jobs in graphic design and advertising, but not feeling she had found her own style and direction yet.
She married and moved to Norfolk. “Once we had our sons and I was reading children’s books to them, it helped me to see the kind of expressive art I wanted to create.” She realized, “It was really about capturing and conveying a feeling more than about any technique.”
“It took 10 years before I was able to really have a consistent look and create my own art that felt natural to me, not trying to fit any particular market, and then the right markets came to me.”
‘Winter Wonderland’ by Katie Atkinson
Her children loved winter, and that became a theme for her. “I felt the magic of winter as I saw it through my children’s eyes,” Atkinson remembered. She said one of her first paintings, “Winter Wonderland,” was quickly licensed by an English greeting card company “as soon as I placed it in Illustration Source,” the agency that represents her.
Around the same time, she went to the New York Stationery Show, where she showed her work to Good Source Greetings, which “bought five cards from the start.”
“These paintings were more universal, idealized and symbolic in theme, yet still with the expressive feel of children’s book illustration.” Her work was marketed worldwide by Illustration Source. “Finally, I had found two areas where I could create what I wanted, and my work was selling — often multiple times for uses and publications I wouldn’t have found on my own.”
“One of my most exciting licensing deals was in 2004, when my art was published by the American Lung Association for Christmas Seals,” Atkinson said.
That is when she felt she had finally found her way. “My ‘Tree of Peace’ and ‘Dove with Trail of Stars’ sold all over the world. I finally felt like I had my direction.”
“Then in 2007, Lands End called me to design their gift card and gift box for 2007. It was like a dream come true for me.”
While looking in a Barnes & Noble one day, Atkinson came across Bookmarks magazine. “I felt my art was in keeping with their look, and I actually painted a cover and sent it in an email to the art director.” Since then, Atkinson has since has painted more than 50 covers for the magazine, and “this has become my longest, steady, ongoing source of assignments over the past 15 years.”
“I hope this exhibit inspires other artists who have not yet found their niche to just keep on creating art, pursuing and refining what you love. It is worth the time it takes,” Atkinson said.
