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After a year-long process, Hochstein School announces Hilary Field Respass is their new leader

Hilary Field Respass, the incoming President & Executive Director of The Hochstein School
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The Hochstein School
Hilary Field Respass, the incoming President & Executive Director of The Hochstein School

The Hochstein School has announced a new President & Executive Director. Hilary Field Respass will fill that role as of July 1.

She will succeed Peggy Quackenbush, who held that position at the regional arts school since 1992. Quackenbush announced her retirement plans last year.

Respass has served as Executive Director of Boston University Tanglewood Institute since 2014. Before that, she had a leadership role at The Hartt School at the University of Hartford in Connecticut, a program that served more than 1,500 youth and adults in music and dance instruction.

Hochstein Board Chair Jennifer Stenzel said that Respass was hired after an almost year-long process “that drew on the work, wisdom, and voices of so many, and from which we learned so much about the vital role that arts education plays in all our lives.”

Stenzel added, “We are excited by Hilary’s varied experience and her demonstrated commitment to expanding access to arts education of the highest caliber. Providing opportunity and removing the barriers to participation are at the core of Hochstein’s mission.”

Respass said that she has “been moved again and again by the deep pride, caring, and commitment that The Hochstein School has for its teaching, its dance- and music-making, and for every person in its community.”

The Hochstein School was established in 1920 and currently serves approximately 3,500 students annually from a 12-county region in the Rochester area.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.
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