2026 Spring Arts Field Trips

Spring sprang Millbrook’s most creative students into several exciting adventures last week, as the Art Department took spring field trips. Destinations were as close as just down the road at Dutchess Day School and as far as a quick train ride to New York City, and everyone had an amazing time enjoying the wealth of resources available near campus.

Led by Theater Director Elaine Lifter, honors acting students made the short drive to the Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie. They toured the facilities and talked to professors and students—including Millbrook alums Anel Cabrera ’25 and Querida Alleyne ’24. The experience gave prospective theater majors an inside look at what to expect if they continue plying their craft in college.

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Music students—including two ensembles and the Singers—took their talents to Dutchess Day School. There, they put on a concert featuring energetic renditions of songs like Bad Bunny’s “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” and the classic “Hooked on a Feeling.” Music Director Brian Coughlin said the audience enthusiastically joined in on the infamous “Ooga-Chaka ooga-ooga” intro to the latter tune.

“The kids represented the music programs well and engaged the DDS audience, added Art Department Director Joe Raciti. He also shared a humorous anecdote from the day: “KJ (Pimentel ’28) kind of stole the show, singing three solos across the two ensembles. Also, when it was announced that he was singing a solo for the third Singers song, a kid in the crowd said, ‘YESS!!’ I said, ‘You know this song?’ He said, ‘No, I just like him.’”

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Photography Instructor Jeff Zelevansky took his aspiring photographers to the Center for Photography at Woodstock, in Kingston. The group—which included several Scholastic Arts Gold and Silver Key winners from this year and a Gold Medal winner from last year—learned about the many resources the center offers for photographers in the Hudson Valley, including a gallery, studios, darkrooms, and printing services.

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Sarah MacWright’s architecture students spent a day in New York City. They split time between two public libraries, studying the architectural differences in the two buildings. “The students made drawings on site at the main branch (Beaux Arts architecture) and at the 53rd St. Library (modern architecture),” said Ms. MacWright. “We were looking at the shift from ornamented design to modernism, which instead emphasizes materials and visible structural engineering.”

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Students in Kiernan Pazdar’s painting and mixed media classes and Owen Moon’s studio pottery class joined forces to visit the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. Ms. Pazdar also took her students gallery hopping in Chelsea. On one of their stops, at Harpers Books, they were able to meet Christian Ruiz Berman—the artist whose work was on display—and discuss his paintings with him.

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