"Renée Anne Louprette, one of New York’s finest organists" - NY Times

Congratulations to Hartt alumna Renée Anne Louprette.  Her recording, BACH: ‘THE GREAT 18 CHORALES’ (Acis Productions, two CDs), was just highlighted in the NY Times article - Classical Critics Pick the Top Music Recordings of 2014.  A well-deserved recognition.

Renée's website is http://www.reneeannelouprette.com.  Click here to get to it directly.  A link to the NY Times article is here.

Fall 2014 Streaming Performances From Hartt

You can visit the Hartt website shortly before each performance to start the streaming performance.

 

The Halloween Concert with the Hartt Orchestra, Hartt Wind Ensemble, and Hartt Symphony Band

Friday, October 31, 2014, 10:30 pm

Alfred C. Fuller Music Center F Millard Auditorium

 

Saxophone Studio Recital - Adolphe Sax's 200th Birthday

Thursday, November 6, 2014, 7:30 pm

Alfred C. Fuller Music Center F Millard Auditorium

 

Senior Dance Concert

Saturday, November 8, 2014, 7:30 pm

Handel Performing Arts Center HPAC Roberts Theater

 

Evening with Guitar

Thursday, November 20, 2014, 8 pm

Alfred C. Fuller Music Center F Berkman Recital Hall

 

Hartt Big Band

Friday, November 21, 2014, 7:30 pm

Alfred C. Fuller Music Center F Millard Auditorium

 

Hartt Dances

Saturday, November 22, 2014, 7:30 pm

Lincoln Theater

 

Jazz Vocal Recital

Sunday, November 23, 2014, 3 pm

Alfred C. Fuller Music Center F Millard Auditorium

 

Hartt Jazz Ensembles

Thursday, December 4, 2014, 7:30 pm

Lincoln Theater

 

Hartt Jazz Ensembles

Friday, December 5, 2014, 7:30 pm

Lincoln Theater

 

Percussion Ensemble

Saturday, December 6, 2014, 7:30 pm

Alfred C. Fuller Music Center F Millard Auditorium

 

Foot in the Door

Wednesday, December 10, 2014, 7:30 pm

Lincoln Theater

 

Collegium Musicum

Thursday, December 11, 2014, 8 pm

Alfred C. Fuller Music Center F Berkman Recital Hall

 

Hartt Orchestra

Friday, December 12, 2014, 7:30 pm

Lincoln Theater

 

Hartt Wind Ensemble and Hartt Symphony Band

Saturday, December 13, 2014, 7:30 pm

Lincoln Theater

 

Performance 20/20

Sunday, December 14, 2014, 5 pm

Alfred C. Fuller Music Center F Berkman Recital Hall

An Embarrassment of Riches - Fall 2014 Master Classes at Hartt

Hartt is in the midst of an amazing semester of visiting artists - an embarrassment of riches for the students.

So far this year, the master classes have included:

Oscar Ghiglia - guitar
Classical guitar legend and founder of the Guitar Department at the Aspen Festival, the Festival de Musique des Arcs and the “Incontri Chitarristici di Gargnano,”  He has been artist in residence, or visiting professor in such centers as the Cincinnati and San Francisco conservatories, Julliard, the Hartt School, and Northwestern University.

Christine Brewer - soprano
Grammy Award-winning American soprano.  Her appearances in opera, concert, and recital are marked by her own unique timbre, at once warm and brilliant, combined with a vibrant personality and emotional honesty reminiscent of the great sopranos of the past. Named one of the top 20 sopranos of all time (BBC Music), her range, golden tone, boundless power, and control make her a favorite of the stage and a highly sought-after recording artist, one who is 'in her prime and sounding glorious' (Anthony Tommasini, New York Times).


Russell Malone - jazz guitar
Malone began working with Jimmy Smith in 1988 and went on to work with Harry Connick, Jr. and Diana Krall throughout the 1990s.

Stephen Schwatrz - music theatre
Oscar, Grammy, Drama Desk, and Golden Globe Award winner Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin, Godspell, and many more).

Still to come this semester:

Misty Copeland - dance
American Ballet Theatre soloist Misty Copeland, who has been attracting national media attention for her talent, perseverance, and message of equality in the world of ballet, comes to Hartt to present a master class to Hartt’s dance students and invited guests. 

Randy Brecker - jazz trumpeter and composer.
Mr. Brecker has helped shape the sound of jazz, R&B, and rock for more than four decades. His trumpet and flugelhorn performances have graced hundreds of albums by a wide range of artists from James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, and Parliament/Funkadelic to Frank Sinatra, Steely Dan, Jaco Pastorius, and Frank Zappa.

Kenny Washington - jazz vocalist virtuoso.
Emulating the classic styles of Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan and infusing colors of Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway, Kenny's free, playful approach, with over a four-octave range is awe inspiring.

The Chiara Quartet - string quartet
One of America's premier young ensembles, is in residence at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Harvard University. They will present a chamber music masterclass and mini concert at which they will perform a string quartet of Bela Bartok from memory.

5 Questions with Emily Davidson

Emily Davidson (B.M. ‘10) studied Cello Performance at Hartt from 2006 to 2010.  She is currently living in Boston.

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

After studying at Hartt, I continued on to the Longy School of Music of Bard College to study Early Music Performance. Since completing my Master’s, I've been freelancing in the Boston area as both a performer and a teacher. There’s a thriving early music scene here in Boston, so I often play in chamber music concerts with various local groups in addition to my own solo projects. In the last two years I released and self-produced two solo albums, BASS SOUNDS, which focus on unaccompanied cello music from the baroque period. The first album featured 17th century pieces by Domenico Gabrielli and Giovanni Battista Degli Antonii, and included the first Cello Suite by J.S. Bach to hear more familiar repertoire in a new context. I followed with BASS SOUNDS: Evolved this past July which explored 18th century unaccompanied pieces by Joseph Marie Clément Dall’Abaco and Friedrich Dotzauer. Evolved included the second Bach Cello Suite in D minor. Both are available at http://emilyplayscello.bandcamp.com.

What are you involved with right now?

5 Questions with Jackie Martino

Jackie Martino (B.M. 1992) studied Musical Theater Direction and Music Education at Hartt from 1987 to 1992.  She is currently living in Norwalk, CT.

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

Wow, it has been a long time.  After graduating Hartt, I went through the struggle that many college graduates do, in trying to find work in their field.  However, after an early 20’s struggle, I started teaching piano, voice, and guitar in a studio for about 8 years.  At this same time I continued writing and recording music. In 1999, I got my Masters degree for S.U.N.Y. Purchase in studio composition and released my first CD Run.  I performed with my band and solo in festivals and venues across the United States.  My most notable gigs were probably the Bitter End and the Hard Rock Cafe in NYC.  In 2001, I began teaching at the King School in Stamford where I am today.  I started teaching middle school choir and theater.  Currently, I am the department chair for the performing arts department and I teach choir, piano, guitar, and direct and music direct the musical in the high school.  In January of 2014, I received my Doctorate in Music Education from Boston University.  My dissertation was an Action Research on Critical Pedagogy and Informal Music Learning with 8th grade general music students.

What are you involved with right now?

Right now, in addition to working, I am very passionate about an El Sistema music program I am working with in Brazil called Orquestrando a Vida.  El Sistema provides music education to children who live in very poor communities.  It began in Venezuela and they are all over the world.  I have been involved with this particular one since 2012.  It is located in Campos Brazil.  Because the program is an NGO, it is constantly struggling to keep the doors open.  I have been there four times since 2012 and started teaching choral music.  It has since continued the vocal program and has choirs that perform. I hope everyone reading this will remember how important music is in their own lives and understand that there are people all over the world who do not have the same opportunities we have because of their economic status.

I hope you will all take a moment to look at my gofundme page, and pass it on to every music educator you know.  We are about spreading the word of this great program. www.gofundme/orquestrandoavida 

As you can see I am pretty passionate about it.

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

Musical America Recognizes Hartt as one of the Top 50 Music Schools in the World

In a special report, Music America recently recognized Hartt as one of the Top 50 Music Schools in the World.  This is a great testament to the great work of Hartt's faculty and the professional success of the alumni.

To view the publication, click here.

Moshe Paranov on the Competence of Teachers

The following is an excerpt from an online publication called “The Rhythm of Successful Teaching,” by Hartt alumnus Larry D. Allen.

Mr. Allen was Principal of Boone Grove Middle School in Boone Grove, Indiana. He also taught and conducted at the college and university level at Trinity College (Hartford, Connecticut), The Hartt School, Central Connecticut State University, Valparaiso University, VanderCook College of Music, Duquesne University, and Villanova University.  Among his degrees, Mr. Allen earned a Masters of Music Degree in oboe performance with Bert Lucarelli at the Hartt.

In this section of his publication, called Competence and Incompetence, Mr. Allen relays some stories about Moshe Paranov and his philosophy of teaching music.

Competence and Incompetence

One of the mysteries about teaching in public schools is that almost all of our gurus and geniuses throughout history that daily receive universal respect and admiration would not legally qualify to be our child's teacher.

Moshe Paranov

Moshe Paranov was a musical guru who provided outstanding leadership at the Hartt School throughout most of the 20th century. He and his team of outstanding teachers developed an idea: to build an outstanding school of music in the greater Hartford, Connecticut area to international acclaim and respect. Moshe’s official title was Dr. Moshe Paranov, President of the Hartt School of Music of the University of Hartford. All the children knew him as “Uncle” Moshe. He was active into his 90’s as the Artist-in-Residence for the schools in Glastonbury, Simsbury, and Torrington, Connecticut. Imagine being in demand as a teacher at 90 years young.

The reality of Dr. Paranov’s talent began to unfold in his high school years, as he entered the principal’s office one morning requesting that the principal give him permission to attend school daily for the balance of his high school year beginning at 10:30 a.m. so that he would have time to practice the piano at home from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. With little hesitation the principal presented Dr. Paranov with the bad news regarding the request even though there was strong parental support.

With that decision, Dr. Paranov moved on with his life, left school and proceeded to practice four hours per day from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., and over the years became a legend without his high school diploma. He built one of the most respected music schools in the world, and he received an Honorary Doctorate from the Philadelphia Music Academy.

Over the years Dr. Paranov interviewed hundreds of candidates to teach in his highly respected school. His mantra was, “play first and then we will talk.” If the candidate played well, the hiring took place immediately. If the candidate could not play well, there was no talking just a painful silence that communicated the message.

Each year there was an opening meeting at the Hartt School of Music where all the faculty would return after a hearty summer of touring, recording, and many exciting musical performances. Dr. Paranov would command the open meeting with humor, enthusiasm, and commitment. The opening speech went like this each year:

I want to welcome you all back to another season of excellence. What I want from each of you teachers is to know “what have you done today to help each of your students and what have you done today to make yourself a more competent musician and a more competent teacher.”