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From Participant to Mentor: Hartwick’s Honor Band Strikes the Right Note

When Mitchell Dorosky ’29 first picked up a tuba, it was at Hartwick College’s Honor Band. A high school student from Jefferson, N.Y. at the time, Dorosky joined the annual daylong event to get some extra practice and wound up discovering a musical community that resonates with him today.

“I heard about the Honor Band program through my high school music directors (Heidi Collischonn ’24 and Tristan Bachorik ’23), who are both Hartwick grads,” Dorosky said. “It was actually the first time I played the tuba. It helped me connect with other players in my area.”

Now a cybersecurity major at Hartwick, Dorosky returned to the 9th Annual Honor Bands on October 25, this time as a mentor to the next generation of young musicians.

Mitchell Dorosky ’29 with tuba

“It was fun to be on a different side of the experience. I even got to see the great performance they put on and answer their questions, the same ones I was asking last year.”

Mitchell Dorosky ’29

Cybersecurity Major, Honor Band Mentor

Hosted by Associate Professor of Music and Department Co-Chair Andrew Pease, the 2025 event brought a record 86 high school students to campus for a full day of music-making. Students were divided into two ensembles: the Hawks Band, made up mostly of 11th and 12th graders and conducted by Pease, and the Oyaron Band, featuring 9th and 10th graders under the direction of guest conductor Sarah Fernández, music director of the Manhattan Wind Ensemble. The day culminated in a live concert in the Anderson Center for the Arts, where both groups performed.

Pease says the Honor Band is as valuable to Hartwick as it is to the visiting students. “It’s a huge benefit to Hartwick,” he said. “The students get to experience our campus, our faculty, and our students firsthand. They get a glimpse of what a college band can be like by hearing us perform, asking questions and seeing how our students interact.”

For Dorosky, that connection has come full circle. “It was good to see what I’ve learned since being at Hartwick,” he said. “I look forward to doing this again next year.”

November 5, 2025
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