Renee Nestorak is a violinist and an instructor in violin and viola. Courtesy | Facebook
Renee Nestorak ’10 was named the 2023 Artist of the Year by ArtWorks of Hillsdale County on March 31.
Nestorak’s accomplishments and promotion of the arts in the community as associate music director at Hillsdale First United Methodist Church qualified her as a stand-out recipient for the award, ArtWorks President Connie Sexton said.
According to Sexton, ArtWorks will honor Nestorak on June 4 with a celebration reception at the Dawn Theater.
The award honors individuals or couples who have played a significant role in promoting arts in Hillsdale County, Sexton said. The honorees may be involved in any art form, and can be art educators or advocates. ArtWorks has given the award since 2008.
Sexton said she was impressed by Nestorak’s dedication to art and music after working with her.
“She was running the music performance competition for ArtWorks all by herself for many years, until I took it over for her and gave her a break,” Sexton said. “No matter what I ask of her, she is always there for support.”
Nestorak said she was surprised to learn she had won Artist of the Year. As an ArtWorks board member, Nestorak had received an email about a nomination but did not know any details about the nominee until she arrived at the board meeting later that day.
“When I finally showed up,” Nestorak said, “I noticed that there were several of the calendars that I designed with my photography on the table, and I thought ‘Well wait a second, what are these doing here?’ That’s when they told me that they had chosen me as the Artist of the Year, and so it was quite a surprise.”
Aside from her work at her church, Nestorak is a teacher at Hillsdale County School of the Arts, a board member of ArtWorks of Hillsdale County, and an instructor for the violin and viola. She has also published a yearly calendar of her photography.
“When I went to Hillsdale, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do, but I enjoyed art and music so that’s what I ended up doing,” Nestorak said.
While attending the college, Nestorak double majored in art and music, with a focus on graphic design and photography. After college, she decided to stay in Hillsdale because her church was looking for a contemporary music director.
“I felt like God had kept me in the community to help further the arts and music,” Nestorak said. “I didn’t realize that right away, but looking back, I am glad that I have been able to nurture graphic arts, fine arts, and music in this community.”
John Ourensma, director of music at Hillsdale First United Methodist Church, has been working with Nestorak in a church music position for the past 10 years. Nestorak took the position of associate music director after she graduated from Hillsdale and was responsible for the contemporary 11 a.m. service and worship band.
“Renee works in the church that she grew up in since she was two or three years old when her parents moved to Hillsdale,” Ourensma said. “The church is an older congregation, and so when she began working here, she was the youngest one in the congregation.”
Nestorak began designing posters, publicity materials, and graphics for the music department and webpage soon after she started working at Hillsdale First United Methodist Church.
Over the years, Ourensma said he has been impressed by her skills.
“She is a very detail-oriented person,” Ourensma said. “She catches a lot of our mistakes, oversights, and things we don’t think about. Her work is very important to our daily routine.”
Ourensma attested to Nestorak’s gifts and character, saying that both he and the community have always noticed her dedication to work and faith.
“She has always been mature for her age and serious about her life, work, and faith,” Ourensma said. “That’s one reason why she has gotten along with the congregation as well as she has. She has figured out how to channel her gifts and energy very early on in her life.”
