HochStories

Befikadu Mekonnen of Ethiopia took individual guitar lessons this past year with John Wiesenthal, chair of Hochstein’s guitar department. Mekonnen first came to the U.S. for diagnosis and treatment of an aggressive cancer in his right eye, and ended up studying at the Harley School in Rochester.

Walk into the Hochstein waiting room on a Saturday morning and you'll hear the sound of music, of dance shoes, of laughter. In this video, you’ll experience a typical day at Hochstein, a crossroads in our community.

Joseph Mancini has been a voice student of Sandra Boysen Sluberski at The Hochstein School since his early ‘80s and gave his first recital in 2015 and a second one in 2017 at age 88. Mancini has sung all his life and even took voice lessons 60 years ago, but has found the greatest joy and satisfaction from his classes at Hochstein.

When Josh comes to his cello lesson with Kathy Kemp every Monday morning, the mission is to address his specific circumstances and needs. Josh started taking lessons with Kathy when he was 7 years old, and he’s worked diligently for the past four years to master elements of cello technique and musical knowledge so that he can play more challenging pieces.