Mr. Solomonides graduated from the University of Hartford College
of Engineering, Technology & Architecture (CETA) with a B.S. in Electrical
Engineering and a Minor in Piano Performance from The Hartt School in 1985. Jason is a long time student of Prof. Raymond
Hanson, Chairman of Piano Emeritus at both Julius Hartt and the Hartt College
School of Music; studying with Prof. Hanson from 1975 to 1988. He is currently living in Cromwell, CT with
his wife Dr. Kerry O’Neal and twin daughters, Alexis and Keira, ages 4 ½.
What have you been up to since you graduated from Hartt?
I am currently Chief Engineer, Controls & Diagnostics -
Pratt & Whitney (P&W) – United Technologies Corporation (UTC); with a
proud 32 year tenure and am the recipient of 4 technical patents. As Chief of Controls, I have the program management
and technical responsibility for the design, development and deployment of the
Control & Diagnostic Systems and Software for all of P&W's commercial
and military engine programs.
After graduating from the University of Hartford I completed my
M.S.E.E from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1988 and went on to complete
the Executive M.B.A program at the University of Connecticut in 2000.
Since graduating from Hartt, I have had also had an active musical
career. In addition to performing
numerous solo recitals across Connecticut between 1985 and 1998, I was invited
to performed as part of the prestigious Asylum Hill Music Series in Harford in 1991,
and performed a solo United Way Fund Raiser Piano Recital called “Sonatas and
Sweets” in 1994 at the Werner Centennial Theatre in Simsbury, CT, sponsored by
UTC and was interviewed live on-air by Ray Dunaway of WTIC-AM, prior to the
concert.
What are you involved with right now?
I was invited to give a lecture and perform a solo recital as
part of the annual Mason & Hamlin University conference held at the piano
factory in Haverhill, MA on September 15 & 16, 2016 and recently received
the honor of being named a Mason & Hamlin Artist. I am currently recording my active repertoire
for the company, and in the process of producing a series of PianoDisc
recordings.
I continue to talk with and study with 97 year old Prof. Raymond
Hanson!
What is most
memorable about your time at Hartt?
Of course, having studied at the Hartt School for so many years,
there were many other memorable moments.
Performing solo recitals, as part of the Bach-Liszt and Mozart-Prokofiev
recital series, at the ASK House on Prospect Ave. – including a performance of
Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25 in C, K.503, with Prof. Anne Koscielny,
accompanying. Still fresh in my mind was performing and participating in Master
Classes with Dr. Moshe Paranov at Millard Auditorium. During my high school years at Julius Hartt, I
studied the violin for five years with Prof. Abraham Mishkind and was awarded
First Prize – Piano at both the Hartford Symphony Competition (1981) and
Performer of Connecticut Competition (1981). I was also chosen to perform the
Grieg Piano Concerto in Am, with the Greater Hartford Youth Orchestra,
conducted by Prof. Bernard Lurie on May 10, 1981.
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?
