The Native Son for 2019 has been announced, and the winner is a renowned musician from Norwich.
The Norwich Women's City Club and the Norwich Rotary Club named retired Chicago Symphony Orchestra first violinist Charles Pikler to the title. The Native Son/Daughter title has been awarded for 52 years to natives of the community who performed outstanding feats outside of the area. This year's chairperson of the selection committee was Kyle Muenzner.
Pikler became part of the famous orchestra in 1986 as a first violinist, and went on to become the principal violinist.
His mother, Alice Pikler, was a popular teacher who taught him piano while they lived in Norwich. He was part of the music program in Norwich Public Schools, performing multiple solos at a young age. Pikler went on to Buckingham School, Kelly Junior High, Norwich Free Academy, and finally the University of Connecticut as part of the Berkshire Music Center's Tanglewood Young Artist Program.
While at UC, he performed solos for multiple orchestras, such as the Eastern Connecticut Symphony and Manchester Civic Orchestra and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. At the University of Minnesota, he received a Mathematics Bachelors of Arts.
In October 2017, Pikler retired and earned the Theodore Thomas Distinguished Service Medallion. When long-serving influential characters like Pikler are rewarded, organizations often turn to Print shops for the likes of certificates and other printed accolades.
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