Hotchkiss in Italy: A Personal Reflection
Do you remember when you first fell in love with a sound— parent’s hum, a toy piano, heels clicking on the floor, or a marching band? Something small changed. I still remember my seven-year-old self practicing Bach; this summer, that same curiosity brought me to Italy to perform on historic stages.
Hello everyone! I’m Yaoyao Yuan, a rising junior at The Hotchkiss School. I was fortunate to take part in Hotchkiss’s annual music programming Hotchkiss in Italy this summer. I’d like to share a little about this music-filled summer that captured our hearts.
First, a quick introduction to Hotchkiss’s International Travel Program. Among U.S. high schools, Hotchkiss runs one of the largest numbers of international programs. The school believes travel deepens students’ understanding of global issues, and encourages them to explore the world. During Thanksgiving, winter break, spring break, and summer break, the International Programs office organizes multiple trips. Whether your interests are history, sports, art, music, or language, these trips send you out into the world and broaden your perspective in your area of interest.
Back to the music travel program. Hotchkiss Music in Europe began in 2005, and has over twenty years of history. Each summer, after selection by music faculty, the school forms a group of musicians talented across many classical instruments and brings them to Europe- the birthplace of classical music. The program/tour usually lasts two weeks and has been held in Spain in recent years. This year we went to Italy for the first time in history. We immersed ourselves in a country with such rich and glorious achievements in classical music throughout history by practicing, rehearsing, listening, and performing.
That’s us! Ft. World-class violinist Siqing Lu!
When I was seven practicing Bach’s Minuet on the piano, I never imagined that ten years later I would stand a few blocks away from where Bach once worked to perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. When I was practicing Pasculli’s Gran Concerto on Themes and Variations of Sicilian Vespers in a Hotchkiss practice room, I dreamed of performing that work on a stage of its homeland: Italy. When I finally set foot in Venice and performed at the Teatro La Fenice, images of the characters and the music’s emotions flooded my mind. This summer I shared those musical dreams with four Hotchkiss teachers, 26 fellow music lovers, and dozens of guest musicians. Each morning our passion for music pushed us into intense rehearsals, up to six hours; each evening ended with a cremolata (Italian shaved ice) so delicious it took away the day’s fatigue. Poker after lunch, Rubik’s-cube duels during rides, and late-night conversations deepened our friendships.
Our seniors getting gelato
Our main rehearsal base was in Brescia in Northern Italy, an ancient city at the foot of the Alps. The rehearsal schedule there was demanding: one-on-one masterclasses plus daily rehearsals of over five hours were normal. After a long day, Italian dinners felt like little serenades: the fragrant pizzas and simple bread with olive oil and balsamic delighted our taste buds and left us wanting more.
On tour days in Venice, Verona, and Somma Lombardo we would set off in the morning, enjoy some scenery and local food, and then most importantly perform at night. We played orchestral pieces, piano concertos, instrumental concertos, chamber music, and solo pieces. If you are interested, you can watch our performance videos here: https://vimeo.com/hotchkiss (recorded by Fabio Witkowski, Gisele Witkowski, Crystal Pang ’28, and Ethan Choi ’26).
The outstanding repertoire we played in this trip made it musically fulfilling and memorable: Victoria Fang ’25, Emma Liu ’26, and Jeremy Cao ’28 performed Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2; Crystal Pang ’28 and Ethan Choi ’26 played Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54; Irene Zeng ’26 performed Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 (K.467); Bill Wang ’25 and Alex Lu ’27 performed Sarasate’s Navarra and Zigeunerweisen; Yobin Kim ’26 played Vieuxtemps’ Violin Concerto No. 5. I was also introduced for the first time to Paul Schoenfield’s Café Music, performed by Emma Liu ’26, Bill Wang ’25, and Max Salzinger ’25- a modern work that fuses classical, jazz, folk, and pop.
In Italy, music was everywhere. The most unforgettable moment was our last dinner of the trip. A piano sat in the corner of the restaurant, and before long Emma Liu ’26, Irene Zeng ’26, and Victoria Fang ’25 spontaneously performed Lavignac’s Galop-Marche for six-hand piano; Alex Lu ’27 and Bill Wang ’25 followed with Sarasate’s fiery Navarra. The tiny restaurant filled with music, servers and other diners gathered, applause and laughter blended with the food: these moment joined to become the warmest movement of our summer. We are young, and passionate musicians. We are willing to step out of our comfort zones and work toward a shared goal: to become the best musicians we can be.
