Connecticut Summerfest: Contemporary Music Festival

The Hartt Alumni Blog would like to welcome and thank guest blogger - Aaron N. Price

Connecticut Summerfest: Contemporary Music Festival

 

Aaron N. Price (MM in Composition ‘16) and Gala Flagello (BM in Composition ‘16) met as Composition students at The Hartt School. In discussing the festivals they had experienced in the past, they recognized the potential for an affordable, compact summer music program right in their own backyard for emerging composers and ensembles. This lead to the creation of Connecticut Summerfest: a weeklong contemporary music festival that brings together talented emerging composers and some of the country's most inventive chamber ensembles, culminating in nine world premieres. The festival provides the Greater Hartford community with new music concerts of the highest caliber through a free nightly concert series featuring our three ensembles-in-residence and brand-new pieces written by festival composition students.

 

The structure of Connecticut Summerfest was crafted from some of the most advantageous aspects of festivals Aaron and Gala had each personally attended: a weeklong event with three ensembles-in-residence, two composition faculty members, and a variety of guest speakers. In addition to live premieres, festival composers benefit from a professional recording session of their new works, commissioned by the festival and the ensembles-in-residence. Resident ensembles are also invited to give a recital of their own repertoire as part of the festival’s nightly concert series. In an effort to serve a broader audience, not only are Connecticut Summerfest’s concerts free and open to the public, they are also live-streamed so that they may be enjoyed from anywhere in the world.

 

For their 2018 Festival, several notable University of Hartford alumni and faculty are involved:

 

Composition Faculty and Guest Lecturers:

Larry Alan Smith (Professor of Composition): 2018 Composition Faculty Member

Carrie Koffman (Assistant Professor of Saxophone): 2018 Guest Lecturer

 

Performers in Ensembles-in-Residence
Allison Hughes (BMus in Flute Performance '16, MM in Flute Performance '18): flutist of Duo Alterity

Joseph Van Doran (BMus in Guitar Performance '16, MM in Guitar Performance '18): guitarist of Duo Alterity

 

Festival Staff

Aaron Price (MM in Composition '16): Artistic Director

Gala Flagello (BMus in Composition '16): Festival Director
Will Jones (BMus in Composition and MPT '17): Recording Engineer
Brandon Keogan (BMus in Composition '16): Technical Coordinator

 

Advisory Board Members

David Bell (Associate Dean for Administration and Finance)

Milena Erwin (Program Manager of the University of Hartford Women's Business Center)

 

Please join us for our 2018 Concert Series:
All concerts are free, open to the publics, and available via Live Stream!

 

Friday, June 15th, 2018: Duo Alterity

Allison Hughes (flute), Joseph Van Doran (guitar)

8pm in Berkman Recital Hall at The Hartt School

 

Saturday, June 16th, 2018: Akropolis Reed Quintet

Tim Gocklin (oboe), Kari Landry (clarinet), Matt Landry (saxophone), Ryan Reynolds (bassoon), Andrew Koeppe (bass clarinet)

8pm in Berkman Recital Hall at The Hartt School

 

Sunday, June 17th, 2018: Xelana Duo

Ana García-Caraballos (saxophone), Alexander Davis (bassoon)

8pm in Berkman Recital Hall at The Hartt School

 

Tuesday, June 19th, 2018: Evening of Premieres

New Works by Festival Composers Performed by Duo Alterity, Akropolis Reed Quintet, and Xelana Duo

8pm in Berkman Recital Hall at The Hartt School

 

More information may be found at www.ctsummerfest.org and www.facebook.com/ctsummerfest. Connecticut Summerfest, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.