Update to Hartt Alumni

Here is the September 2015 email update sent from the Hartt Board of Trustees' Alumni Committee to all alumni for who the University of Hartford has an email address.

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Dear Fellow Hartt Alumni, I hope you have been well since last summer’s email sent to all Hartt alumni about the exciting things that were happening at Hartt and preview for the 2014–15 year. Now, I wanted to reach out, once again, on behalf of the Hartt Board of Trustees’ Alumni Committee to highlight some of the exciting things that happened at Hartt during the past year and to preview some upcoming events. Hartt, and the University of Hartford as a whole, have made a real commitment to improving alumni engagement. Everyone at Hartt wants you to feel a continuing connection to the school and this update is one way we are doing that. We hope that you will consider coming to a performance, reaching out individually to a former professor, attending an alumni event, or finding another way to remain involved. For now, let’s talk about our alma mater.
THEATRE DIVISION presented the rarely performed musical On Your Toes and is preparing for Nicholas Nickleby.
In 1936, the musical On Your Toes, written by Rodgers and Hart, opened on Broadway.  Prior to Hartt’s production, On Your Toes had never been performed north of New York City. The show, which requires both a full ballet company and a music theater company, is a massive undertaking. Hartt’s production was directed by Alan Rust, director of the Theatre Division, and choreographed by Ralph Perkins and Stephen Pier. A full orchestra, conducted by Edward Cumming, skillfully added an important component to the grand show, which includes the jazz ballet "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue." This coming year, the Theatre Division will present another rare production. Charles Dickens’s Nickolas Nickleby will be performed in two parts on consecutive nights and both parts combined during weekend days in November. The Hartt School Theatre Division Presents The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickelby Presented in Two Parts Tuesday–Sunday Nov. 3–8, 2015 Part I: Tuesday and Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 3 p.m. Part II: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Dickens’s England Evening Package Saturday or Sunday Parts I and II with a traditional Dickensian dinner between shows, hosted at the University of Hartford’s 1877 Club. Tickets are available by visiting hartford.edu/tickets or calling 860.768.4228.
Hartt Alumni Award—2015 Recipient and a Call for 2016 Nominations
Boykin speaks on Lincoln stage in May. Phillip Boykin ’95 was the 2015 Alumni Award recipient. Boykin was presented this honor at the Hartt Commencement in May. At commencement, Boykin spoke passionately to the graduating students and assembled guests sharing both the struggles he has experienced and his triumphs. He was a featured performer in the recent Broadway production of On The Town, Boykin has had an amazing career since graduating Hartt. Visit his webpage. If you know of a Hartt alumnus or alumna worthy of consideration for the Hartt Alumni Award, please nominate him or her.
Hartt Welcomes a New Class as the Tradition of Opening Convocation Continues!
We all remember arriving at Hartt. A couple of weeks ago, Hartt welcomed 152 new undergraduate students in music, dance, and theatre, and 58 traditional, full-time graduate students. The incoming class comes from 29 states, Puerto Rico, and 6 countries. One of the newer traditions at Hartt continued at the Opening Convocation.  Each year, the entire student body assembles for welcoming remarks from the dean and University president and are then treated to performances by Hartt faculty. This year, there were performances by faculty from the dance, theatre, and vocal divisions. Having these master performers demonstrate their skill, passion, and art with the students is a truly wonderful way to begin the year. Hopefully this tradition will continue for many years to come. Now the students will be learning in the same classrooms we sat in, practicing in the same practice rooms, and performing in Millard Auditorium and other spaces. We wish them success and will welcome them when they become Hartt alumni.
Enid Lynn Scholarship
The Hartt Dance Division was started in 1994 with inaugural directors Peggy Lyman Hayes and Enid Lynn. With the assistance and support of Peggy (who is a current Hartt Trustee), a scholarship in the name of Enid Lynn has been established.  The Enid Lynn Endowed Scholarship for Dance honors the groundbreaking work and inspiring career in dance education of Dance Division founder and School of Hartford Ballet Director, Enid Lynn. Lynn’s visionary spirit and creative thinking led to the creation of The Hartt School’s Dance Division. Dancers that studied under her have gone on to work for preeminent companies such as the American Ballet Theater, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Momix, Hamburg Ballet, Ballet Trocadero, Cincinnati Ballet, New York City Ballet, and Royal Danish Ballet. This endowed scholarship fund will provide scholarships for collegiate dance students at The Hartt School who have financial need or who exhibit talent above their peers. Contribute to the Enid Lynn Scholarship today.
Watson Morrison Given the Fuller Medal in celebration of 60 Years Teaching at Hartt
To celebrate his 60 years of teaching at Hartt, the Hartt Board of Trustees honored Watson Morrison this past spring by awarding him the Fuller Medal. Morrison has influenced generations of Hartt students who studied in his piano studio and took classes with him. His commitment is truly worthy of our honor and respect. As part of the celebration, Hartt produced a documentary on Morrison’s life and career. The documentary is titled Taking Care of the Children—Celebrating the Life, Work, and Legacy of Dr. Watson Wilbur Morrison. You can watch the documentary on the Hartt YouTube channel.
Hartt Social Media
Hartt YouTube Channel Hartt has been expanding its YouTube channel. This past spring we posted the first of what we hope will be an long-running series of recordings from the audio archives. The first performance from the archives is Hartt’s 1992 performance of Mozart’s “Missa Brevis in D minor.” We have posted the audio recording and the concert programs from the concert at Hartt and the repeat performance at Lincoln Center in NYC. You can listen to the recording or browse the program online.	Hartt Alumni Facebook Pages and Hartt Alumni Blog In addition to the Hartt alumni Facebook pages, we have a Hartt Alumni Blog for longer format items of interest to alumni. One of the most popular parts of the blog is the alumni interview series called “5 Questions with. . . .” This past year our interviews included Steve Collins, Shana Mahoney, Kim (Deluccio) Collins, and Steve Wenig. Check out those posts and previous ones.
14th Annual Hartt Gala—Hartt's Got Talent
In addition to seeing you at some Hartt performances, or hearing that you have logged on to hear the online streaming performances, we hope to see you at this year’s Hartt Gala, which raises money to support scholarships, endowments, tuition assistance, and educational programming. We hope you will join us for the 14th Annual Gala on October 24, 2015. For additional information and to register online, click here.
If you would like to become more involved with other Hartt alumni or have comments or questions, please reach out to any of the members of the Hartt Board of Trustees’ Alumni Committee.  We hope to see you or hear from you soon. Best wishes, »  Michael Menapace ’93     Co-chair of the Hartt Board of Trustees     Chair of Alumni Committee »  Joe Mulready ’71 »  Linda Solow Blotner, music librarian emerita »  Peggy Lyman Hayes ’06 »  Marcos Carreras ’95, ’02 »  James Barry ’80 »  Amy Lesko ’98 »  Associate Professor Katie Stevinson-Nollet