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The Fall 2025 Arts Season in Review
The 2025–2026 arts season has brought with it a colorful mix of enriching visual, dramatic, and musical offerings. Here is a recap of artistic events and moments throughout the fall and early winter.
VISUAL ARTS
VISUAL ARTS
The first show in the Keator Gallery this season, figuring remediation, showcased original artwork by new Visual Arts faculty member Austin Casebolt. From September 3–25, Casebolt filled the gallery with oil paintings, mixed-media works, and photograms that explored the themes of ecology, economy, and the impact of industrial mining practices on local communities and the environment.
In celebration of Hispanic and Latin Heritage Month, eight local artists brought their perspectives to campus in the annual De Colores Art Show, from September 29–October 10. The exhibition featured the work of Connecticut artists Miguel Benitez, Adriana Bergstrom, Odette Chavez-Mayo, Jenny Krauss, K’La Lawson, Jerry Montoya, Frank Morales, and Nadine Nelson.
DRAMAThis year’s annual community show invited students, faculty, and staff to reflect on the theme, “Art-Official Intelligence.” The exhibition, which was on view from October 17–November 14, featured artwork in a wide range of media that represented arguments both for and against artificial intelligence and its influence and use in the world today.
A bright and calm woodworking show filled the gallery from November 20–December 5. This exhibition showcased student-made light sculptures inspired by the iconic Akari works of Isamu Noguchi, whose own works blend Japanese lantern-making traditions and modernist design. Students studied Noguchi’s process and his belief that art should live within everyday experience. The resulting illuminated sculptures embodied weeks of experimentation and craftsmanship, honoring Noguchi’s legacy while exploring how light, form, and material can transform space.
This fall, the Hopkins Drama Association (HDA) brought its productions soaring to life on the Academic & Performing Arts Center stage. Now firmly established in the School’s newest building, these productions showcased all the bells and whistles the new theater has to offer.
HDA delighted audiences with its production of Our American Cousin, performed from October 16–18. The play highlights the contrasts between American brashness and English refinement, and has earned historical notoriety as the play performed on the night of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination at Ford’s Theater.
Directed by Drama Teacher Mike Calderone, the cast presented the fast-paced comedy with skill and aplomb with stellar comedic timing, gorgeous period costumes, and impressive accents. Behind the scenes, a dedicated technical crew ensured every prop, set change, costume adjustment, and sound cue ran seamlessly.
MUSIC
In the realm of instrumental and vocal music, the first opportunity for students to share their talents was at the annual Fall Fest celebration. Student musicians and singers performed during the spooky, Halloween-themed community event on the steps of Thompson Hall, with classics such as “The Monster Mash,” and music from the movie Beetlejuice, among others.
The music department presented two festive concerts in December. Both events delivered seasonal and uplifting music by talented instrumental and vocal performers directed by music department faculty members Erik Elligers, Erika Schroth, and Bobby Smith. On Thursday, December 11, the Academic and Performing Arts Center theater was filled with the instrumental music of the Hopkins Bands, including H Bop, Jazz Ensemble, the 8th Grade Orchestra, and the Concert Band. On Tuesday, December 16, in Battell Chapel in downtown New Haven, the Concert Choir, Junior School Chorus, Treble Choir, Jazz Choir, and Hopkins Orchestra raised their voices and instruments in a symphony of song.
The winter and spring seasons in the Arts are looking bright, with The Drowsy Chaperone and Matilda planned among the spring dramatic offerings. The Keator Gallery will offer a vibrant series of exhibitions, including a Black History Month celebration, a photography show, and a Term 2 student exhibition. The music department will be sure to deliver inspiring concerts in May, showcasing a year of hard work and practice by talented student musicians, as well as a June choir tour to Greece.
In the realm of instrumental and vocal music, the first opportunity for students to share their talents was at the annual Fall Fest celebration. Student musicians and singers performed during the spooky, Halloween-themed community event on the steps of Thompson Hall, with classics such as “The Monster Mash,” and music from the movie Beetlejuice, among others.
The music department presented two festive concerts in December. Both events delivered seasonal and uplifting music by talented instrumental and vocal performers directed by music department faculty members Erik Elligers, Erika Schroth, and Bobby Smith. On Thursday, December 11, the Academic and Performing Arts Center theater was filled with the instrumental music of the Hopkins Bands, including H Bop, Jazz Ensemble, the 8th Grade Orchestra, and the Concert Band. On Tuesday, December 16, in Battell Chapel in downtown New Haven, the Concert Choir, Junior School Chorus, Treble Choir, Jazz Choir, and Hopkins Orchestra raised their voices and instruments in a symphony of song.
LOOKING AHEAD
The winter and spring seasons in the Arts are looking bright, with The Drowsy Chaperone and Matilda planned among the spring dramatic offerings. The Keator Gallery will offer a vibrant series of exhibitions, including a Black History Month celebration, a photography show, and a Term 2 student exhibition. The music department will be sure to deliver inspiring concerts in May, showcasing a year of hard work and practice by talented student musicians, as well as a June choir tour to Greece.
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Hopkins is a private middle school and high school for grades 7-12. Located on a campus overlooking New Haven, CT, the School takes pride in its intellectually curious students as well as its dedicated faculty and staff.
