Partnerships with Arts Orgnizations Continues with Concert at Infinity Hall

One of the things Hartt has done in the past few years, and that it will continue to do, is establish partnerships and working relationships with area arts organizations.  Students contribute to the success of these organizations and, in turn, they receive valuable professional experience while still in school.  Some of the examples are partnerships with The Hartford Stage, Goodspeed Theater, and the Stamford Symphony. 
Another important relationship is the one Hartt has with Hartford's Infinity Hall & Bistro.  This Saturday, Dec. 3, will be a great day at the venue featuring current students from Hartt's jazz division and a performance by alumnus Javier Colon.  Please support these concerts.  If you haven't been to Infinity, you are in for a treat.

 

Hartt History: 1936 - 1955

1936 - Julius Hartt retires as director of The Hartford Musical Foundation and the name of the foundation is changed to The Julius Hartt Musical Foundation in his honor.


1937 - Alfred C. Fuller becomes a member of the Board of Trustees.

1938 - The Board purchases 187 Broad Street in Hartford from the Hartford Seminary.  Dedication exercises are held and feature Harold Bauer, one of the world's greatest pianists, with the Hartt School Chorus and Orchestra.  Samuel Berkman is appointed Dean of the Julius Hartt School of Music.

Moshe Paranov is appointed Music Director at WTIC.

1939 - Irene Kahn, accomplished ensemble player and accompanist, joins Moshe Paranov in the first of many highly acclaimed duo-piano recitals at the new Broad Street location.

1940 - By vote of the Connecticut State Board of Education, Hartt becomes the first independent institution in the state with the right to confer the Bachelor of Music degree.

Alfred Einstein, preeminent German musicologist and critic, joins the Hartt faculty.

1942 - Dr. Elemer Nagy joins the Hartt faculty.  The first Hartt opera production, a double bill, is presented.  The program features the first American performance of Franz von Suppe's Ten Maidens and No Man, Moshe Paranov conducting, and the first Hartford performance of Paul Hindemith's Here and There, with Hindemith conducting.

Hartt History: 1895 - 1935

1895 - Morris Perlmutter is born on Pequot Street, Hartford, CT.


1909 - Julius Hartt moves to Hartford from Boston and assumes the position of organist at Asylum Hill Congregational Church.

Morris Perlmutter begins work as a pianist in theatres and hotels in Hartford and, later that year, becomes the conductor of the Good Will Club Orchestra whose artistic advisor is Julius Hartt.

1912 - Morris Perlmutter debuts at Hartford's Unity Hall on Pratt Street in a performance of Beethoven's G Major Piano Sonata.

1914 - Julius Hartt becomes Music Editor for the Hartford Times.

Director's Message from 1952 Still Resonates

To recognize the 100th blog post, here are two pages from the Hartt's 1952 Allegro Yearbook.

Moshe Paranov, circa 1952

I was not around in those years, but I gather that there was a yearbook published each school year.  This was the Director's Message from Moshe Paranov.  The message is equally valid today.

5 Questions with Aaron Krasting

Aaron Krasting (Bachelor of Music in Music Education, 1993) studied music education at Hartt from 1989 to 1993.  He is currently living in West Deptford, New Jersey.

 

What have you been up to since you graduated from Hartt?

 

Life has been extremely busy since I graduated from Hartt. My first teaching job was in the Pennsville, New Jersey middle and high schools. I was the choir director there for three years. During that time, I grew up a lot. I can honestly say some tough lessons were learned. Musically speaking, I accomplished a great deal. I had the opportunity to perform with the late Robert Shaw for three special concerts at Carnegie Hall. I can definitely thank Drs. Gerald Mack and Pamela Perry for the high level of preparation for such incredible opportunities. I also became the tenor soloist and section leader at historic Christ Church in Philadelphia, a position held for 5 years (thanks to Jack Zei for the vocal preparation). I lost my job in Pennsville due to a reduction in force.

 

After a few very short stints in other jobs, I became the choir director and theater producer at Paulsboro High School in Paulsboro, New Jersey -a short 7 minute drive from my childhood home. I am still at Paulsboro. While here, I received the school and district Teacher of the Year honors in 2001 and, in 2010, was selected to conduct the All South Jersey Junior High Honors Chorus. Over the last 20 years, I held other performance positions at churches -including Trinity Episcopal Church in Moorestown, NJ where I currently am- and performed on the stages of area semi-professional theaters, namely the Ritz Theater in Oaklyn, NJ and the Broadway Theater in Pitman, NJ where, most recently, I played the part of Edna Turnblad in Hairspray. I also performed with Philadelphia's professional choir, the Philadelphia Singers, as well as the Philadelphia Boyschoir and Chorale with my sons, and directed/vocal directed many productions at the high school and semi-professional level.

 

Personally speaking, after graduating from Hartt, I married Tina Oslin, whom I was dating while in school. We have 3 great sons (Michael, who is preparing for a career as a tenor, Tyler, who is currently singing with the Philadelphia Boyschoir, and Christopher, who is in the Boyschoir training program) and we successfully built Tina’s Polynesian dance business and our summer theater programs. We have, however, divorced amicably.  I am happy and have a new love, Becky, in my life.  We’ll see what the next half of my life has in store!

 

What are you involved with right now?

 

Right now, I have just completed the coursework for my Masters Degree in School Leadership at Wilmington University. I'm looking forward to the challenges that go with becoming an administrator for the remainder of my career. I have also decided to basically retire from performing to focus on my new profession and life. A performer can’t stay away forever, so I do hope to return to singing and the stage someday. Right now, I’m enjoying watching my sons perform. I’ll actually be bringing my son, Michael, for a visit to Hartford as a possible college choice.

 

What is one of the most things about your time at Hartt?

 

There were many memorable things that happened while at Hartt. 1) While at the University of Hartford, I was a Red Cap as part of the Preview Orientation program, serving as the director of the group my senior year. As such, I was involved with helping incoming freshmen select their courses and prepare for their lives as Hartt students. Thanks Joan Glazer for all your help, guidance, and support as I did this. 2) My freshman year, Hartt celebrated the birthday of William Schumann. Preparing for that celebration imbedded music in my head that I find myself humming to this day (On Freedoms Ground). 3) The Hartt Chamber Singers (if memory serves right) performed at the MENC Eastern Division convention in Pittsburgh. 4) I also attended the ACDA National Convention in Phoenix which was an amazing experience (thanks Tom Nerbonne). There were more, but 3 is enough

 

What did you learn during while at Hartt that you did not appreciate or recognize until after time passed and you had some time to reflect?

 

2016 Alumni Award Presented to Jimmy Greene

Hartt alumnus, Jimmy Greene, was presented with the 2016 Alumni Award today at Commencement.  Jimmy is pictured here with Interim Dean Clark Saunders.

Below is Jimmy, along with fellow Hartt alumni Dave McLellan and Marcos Carreras, both of whom are currently serving on the Hartt Board of Trustees.

Enid Lynn Honored For Her Work Establishing the Hartt Dance Division

On Friday, April 22, 2016, Hartt honored Enid Lynn, co-founder of the Dance program at Hartt.  Enid directed the School of the Hartford Ballet prior to coming to Hartt and was an important figure in dance in Hartford and beyond.  On Friday, Enid was presented with the Fuller Award, which is the Hartt Board of Trustees' highest honor.  After a wonderful performance by the Hartt dance students, a reception for more than 100 people was held to celebrate Enid.  The other co-founder of the program is current Hartt Trustee, Peggy Lyman-Hayes, who is pictured (center) below with Enid and Stephen Pier, current Director of the Dance Division.  Congratulations, Enid!

Marth Summa-Chadwick gives TEDx talk

Here is a link to a TEDx talk by Hartt alumna Martha Summa-Chadwick, titled Dance of the Neutral Tango.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCM4JPmPJcI 

Former Hartt Professor, Bernard Lurie, Passes Away

The Hartt family mourns the passing of long-time professor, Bernie Lurie, and extends condolences to his family.

Bernard Lurie, retired Concertmaster of the Hartford Symphony, CT Opera and Hartford Ballet passed away peacefully on March 31, 2016 at the age of 82. Bernie was born in Philadelphia on June 20,1933 to Bertha and Morris Lurie and was the loving brother of Ruth Lurie Snyder. Bernie was also a retired Professor of Violin, Viola, Ensemble, Conducting and Orchestra Studies at the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford. For 25 years he conducted the Greater Hartford Youth Orchestra (GHYO) with concert tours of Romania (1973), Switzerland (1976), England, Ireland and Scotland (1979), Italy (1983) and China (1987). He also founded the orchestra at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.


Bernie studied violin under world renowned pedagogue Raphael Bronstein who brought him to New York and then to the Hartt School where he earned both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees. He was the recipient of several scholarships and fellowships including those awarded by Tanglewood and Hartt. Bernie was a former member of orchestras in Philadelphia, New Jersey and New England, and served many as Concertmaster including the Brattleboro Music Festival, Hartford Music Festival, New Haven Symphony "Concerts on the Green," as well as symphonies in Bristol, New Britain, Waterbury, Meridan, CT. He performed under the batons of such conductors as Leonard Bernstein, Aram Khachaturian, Charles Munch, Lorin Maazel, Jorge Mester, Arthur Winograd as well as Arthur Fiedler and Lucas Foss. His former students continue to perform in major symphony orchestras and chamber groups around the world.


Bernie was a beloved husband of Sheila Lurie, loving father to Elena Lurie Meinhardt and Stephen Lurie, loving Poppy to Jillian and Garrett Meinhardt and Jadyn Rose Lurie. Funeral services will be held on Sunday, April 3 at 11am at Bernheim-Apter-Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapel, 68 Old Short Hills Road, Livingston, NJ 07039 with internment following at B'nai Abraham Memorial Park in Union, NJ.


In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in memory of Bernie to the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy or Temple B'nai Abraham. The family wishes to give special thanks to Dr. Eilon Krok and the staff at Saint Barnabas Hospital in Livingston, NJ.       


http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/hartfordcourant/obituary.aspx?n=bernard-lurie&pid=179490730&fhid=12152

Former Hartt Dean - Donald Harris - Passes Away

Here is a link to the obituary for Dean Donald Harris, Dean of The Hartt School of Music from 1977-88.


http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dispatch/obituary.aspx?n=donald-harris&pid=179450799


Condolences to the Harris family.

5 Questions with Matthew Aubin

Matthew Aubin, Doctor of Musical Arts (2010) and Masters (2006) in Music Education both with a conducting emphasis, is currently living in Jackson, Michigan. 

 

What have you been up to since you graduated from Hartt?

In 2006, after completing my Masters, I applied for the DMA program and was offered a fellowship.  I accepted this offer, and left my teaching position at The Norwich Free Academy. In addition to my core course work in music education and wind conducting with Glen Adsit, I took the opportunity as a full-time student to play the French horn again and explore orchestral conducting.  I worked very hard to get my horn chops back into shape and performed with the top instrumental ensembles at The Hartt School.  Additionally, I supplemented my conducting study with Glen by taking score reading courses with Larry Alan Smith and participated in the orchestral conducting seminar with Chris Zimmerman.  These experiences along with some outside conducting workshops and extracurricular study led to a variety of opportunities.

After achieving ABD status in 2008, Hartt kept me on as an adjunct faculty member.  Glen asked me to conduct the Symphony Band, Foot in the Door and the Pep Band.  I also taught several undergraduate courses.  I began to make connections with many of the local professional orchestras and freelanced often on horn in Connecticut.  It was during this period that I was contracted to design and conduct educational concerts with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.  Concurrently, I began to play with a new orchestra in New York City called The Chelsea Symphony.  In 2010, I successfully auditioned to be one of that group’s conductors, eventually becoming Artistic Director.  After completing my doctorate in 2010, I continued as an adjunct faculty member at Hartt and was a candidate for two local community orchestra music director positions.  

The day I learned that I was selected to be the Connecticut Valley Chamber Orchestra’s Music Director was the same day that I learned I had successfully won the position of Assistant Professor of Music at Washington State University (orchestra conductor and studio horn).  My wife and I discussed the situation and decided that it was a good career move for me to accept the job offer in Washington even though she had 4 more years of training in orthopedic surgery at the University of Massachusetts in Worcester where we were living at the time.  For the next 4 years I traveled across the country regularly, conducting The Chelsea Symphony in NYC, teaching at WSU and managing to visit my wife in Massachusetts.  The students at WSU were fantastic and both the orchestra and horn studio improved a great deal while I was there.  At WSU, I performed in faculty ensembles and performed with many professional orchestras including the Spokane Symphony Orchestra and Walla Walla Symphony.  However, the travel was exhausting and as my wife finished fellowship and was looking for jobs we decided that we could no longer live apart. 

We discussed our situation and made the decision for her to take a job in Jackson, Michigan as a hand surgeon and for me to leave WSU.  The Jackson position was a dream job for my wife.  For me, The Chelsea Symphony was demanding more of my attention as it grew from a modest start-up to a more mature organization.  Leaving WSU allowed me to devote more time to The Chelsea Symphony and to finally live with my wife again.

What are you involved with right now?

Today we reside in Jackson and I commute to NYC about 2 times per month.  The Chelsea Symphony is celebrating its 10th anniversary this season. The orchestra is unique in that we provide professional development opportunities for our members by featuring them as conductors, composers and soloists.  This season we are celebrating our anniversary by performing at some different venues such as Merkin Hall and the DiMenna Center.  We are performing the music of some fantastic contemporary composers like Caroline Shaw, Michael Daugherty and Gerard Schwarz.  The orchestra is continuing to play a role as background musicians and coaches for the Amazon television series Mozart in the Jungle.  I consult for the series and contract many of the musicians that appear on camera. 

While at WSU I began researching the composer, Fernande Breilh-Decruck.  She is a French, female composer from the first part of the 20th century who is primarily known as the composer of several important classical saxophone works.  I won a number of research grants for this work and in my travels to France I have discovered many manuscripts that were written for and performed by many of the top performers and ensembles in France in the 1930’s and 1940’s. For the past few years, I’ve worked to disseminate this music to performers and provide more information about her through a website that I’ve created (www.fernandedecruck.com). 

Additionally, I am continuing to be an active horn player and have performed with the Traverse City Symphony and the Jackson Symphony Orchestra.  Both ensembles are exceptional regional orchestras.

What is one of your most memorable things about your time at Hartt?

It was extremely rewarding to prepare for our tours and to create our recordings for Naxos.  Glen was very gracious about giving me opportunities to conduct (tours) and produce (recordings) and I will never forget those experiences.  The wind ensemble performance at Hill Auditorium and Foot in the Door’s performance at Benaroya Hall were both the culmination of many months of hard work.  In 2008 we toured Germany and Austria with the Greater Hartford Youth Wind Ensemble and I still remember standing on the rostrum at the Musikverein listening to the resonance last forever.  I remember sitting in the sound booth with Steve Gryc as we recorded his trombone concerto with Joe Alessi.  As I look back, I recognize the value of breaking out of our daily routine with projects such as these.  They heightened everyone's musical standards, exposed the musicians to new experiences but most importantly brought the members of the ensemble together.  I appreciate the support of the university in these opportunities and especially the support, motivation and mentorship of Glen Adsit.

What did you learn during while at Hartt that you did not appreciate or recognize until after time passed and you had some time to reflect?