The Art and Music Majors offer promising artists space to experiment, learn, and prepare for a creative life
A pristine gallery to display paintings, sculptures, and imaginative installations. Ample opportunities to play and sing for a live audience. Dedicated studio and practice space.
These are just a few of the benefits Cheshire Academy’s Art and Music Majors enjoy as part of innovative programs for talented, motivated students who want to make the arts a career or lifelong endeavor.
“Our Art and Music Major programs give our students the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in their craft — more time in the studio, in the practice room, on the stage, partnering with experts in the field to hone their talents,” said Madeleine Bergstrom, director of college counseling.
“They build their portfolios and résumé with the support of the expertise of our faculty, ultimately creating a robust and professional-grade portfolio to include in their college applications.”
Now in its second year, CA’s Music Major is an arts-intensive program not usually offered at the high school level. With four students enrolled in its inaugural year, it now has eight musicians working with faculty to hone their skills and prepare for college-level courses and performance, said program director Eunyoung DiGiacomo, chair of the Fine and Performing Arts Department. Each major also selects a final program, prepares, and performs a solo recital. DiGiacomo plans to have majors perform in pop-up concerts throughout the school year, outside if weather permits.
Music Majors have gone on to Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University, Berklee College of Music, Hartt School of Music, and Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University, to name a few.
“It’s not only for college,” DiGiacomo said. “Some of them pursue it because they just want music to continue to be a big part of their lives.”
The Fine and Performing Arts Department employs a cadre of adjunct music instructors to work one-on-one with musicians. Many Music Majors and students in music courses take advantage of individual lessons available weekly on campus.
This year’s roster of instructors includes Doug Perry, a percussionist who has performed across America and in Ghana and Germany. A graduate of the Peabody Institute and Yale School of Music, Perry has performed with musicians Christian McBride and Dave Samuels and has recorded for films and popular video games, including Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris and Fossil Hunters.
Piano instructor Vitaly Starikov has won honors at the 2021 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium and the 2023 Sydney International Competition and was the Grand Prix and Audience Prize winner at the 2017 Épinal Piano Competition in France. Starikov has taught and led students for seven years in Moscow and spent two years as a professor’s assistant at the Moscow Conservatory. “As a teacher, my distinctive feature is to find a unique approach to every person,” he says.
CA Music Majors have gone on to Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University, Berklee College of Music, Hartt School of Music, and Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University, to name a few.
