5 Questions with Javier Colon

Javier Colon (B.M. 2000) studied Music Education at Hartt from 1995 to 2000.  He is currently living in West Hartford.

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

A couple months after graduating from Hartt, I was asked to be the lead singer of a band called The Derek Trucks Band. (Now known as the Tedeschi Trucks Band.) It was my 1st touring gig as a musician and I got to see what being on the road was like. I learned so much from Derek, who I believe is one of the best guitarists out there. I was with him for almost 2 years before I left the band to pursue a solo career. I signed to Capitol Records as a solo artist in 2002 and released albums with them in 2003 and 2006. The albums had moderate success but I was eventually dropped from Capitol and found myself searching for a new deal. 

After 5 years and many meetings with labels but no offers, I found myself in a tough position. I still toured as much as I could doing mainly college and corporate gigs but it was getting to the point where it wasn’t enough to support my family. Right around that time, my management had heard about a new show called “The Voice” that was starting up. After being talked into auditioning by my family and friends, I made it on the show and eventually won the 1st season. It was an amazing experience and opportunity that changed the course of my career and life. 

What are you involved with right now?

I continue to tour the US and the world with my music and will be releasing a new album with the new label I recently signed with, Concord Music Group. 

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

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 Brad Danho

Bradford Danho, B.M. 2003, studied Music Education at Hartt from 1999-2003.  He is currently living in Baltimore, MD.

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

After graduating from Hartt in 2003, I began studies in the Jazz program at the University of North Texas.  While at UNT, I studied saxophone with retired professor of saxophone Jim Riggs and held a saxophone teaching assistantship.  I also played lead alto saxophone in the Grammy nominated One O'Clock Lab Band for two years.  

What are you involved with right now?

In 2008, I won a position in the Jazz Ambassadors of the United States Army Field Band from Washington, DC.  The Jazz Ambassadors are a 19 piece big band comprised of all active duty soldiers in the US Army.  We tour 100 days a year in the continental US. 

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