Dr. Macbride to Receive the Humphrey R. Tonkin Award for Scholarly and/or Artistic Creativity

At the 2017 Undergraduate Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 21, Professor David Macbride '73, Professor of Composition and Music Theory, will be presented with the Humphrey R. Tonkin Award for Scholarly and/or Artistic Creativity.


Composer and pianist David Macbride ’73, DMA, has written numerous works, ranging from solo, chamber, and orchestral music to music for film, TV, dance, and theatre, with an emphasis on percussion. During his more than 30 years teaching composition and music theory at The Hartt School, he has inspired and mentored hundreds of students, many of whom have gone on to become noted professional musicians.


An alumnus of The Hartt School, Macbride is universally recognized as one of the world’s most important composers of percussion music. The Humphrey R. Tonkin Award for Scholarly and/or Artist Creativity recognizes his works that challenge musicians technically, musically, and emotionally. His ability to embrace life’s issues and struggles is evident in pieces such as “Staying the Course,” a composition known to “shake the listeners to their core,” as it presents one note for every soldier who died in the Iraq war.


As a pianist, Macbride has toured much of the world performing recitals and is also known for his innovative audience-centered compositions. A recent work, “Percussion Park,” is a musical landscape where the audience is invited to freely roam the performance site in search of the music. The commissioned piece “Silent Hands” features an American Sign Language interpreter as part of the ensemble, and is intended to show connections between the expressiveness of sign language and musical gestures.


Macbride’s artistic endeavors have had a major influence on his teaching. He founded The Hartt School’s “Composers Ensemble,” providing an outlet for student composers to perform their own works, and initiated a course encouraging students to perform locally, having presented countless concerts himself throughout the Greater Hartford area and earning the University of Hartford’s Community Service Award in 2001.


Reflecting on his career at the University, Macbride acknowledges his mentor, Professor Emeritus Edward Diemente: “He provided me with positive experiences that set the stage for my composing to develop into a lifelong habit… I often remind my students that we are blessed to be in this world, the world of music, the world we live in.”     

Hartt 2015 Alumni Award and Commencement

The Hartt School 2015 Commencement was held today and 1995 alumnus Phillip Boykin was awarded the Alumni Award.

I was honored to address the graduating class and congratulate them on behalf of the Hartt Board of Trustees.  I told the students that I was particularly pleased to be sharing a stage, once again, with Phillip Boykin.  Moshe Paranov used to take Phillip and me out for performances in area elementary school cafeterias and gymnasiums.  Uncle Moshe was a passionate believer that all students deserved a proper music education rooted in the classics.  Hence, his oft-heard concern that "Kids today don't know the difference between Beethoven and a him sandwich!" 

I have since retired from my performing career but Phillip has gone on to great international acclaim and is currently featured in the Broadway revival of On The Town.  He is a worthy recipient of the 2015 Alumni Award.

Congratulations, Phillip!  Uncle Moshe would be pleased.

The Gress-Miles Organ Finale

Here are a few photos from last night's Organ Finale.  Organ alumni spanning 6 decades gathered for a final concert on the Gress-Miles instrument.

Picture taken for the dedication.

Just before the May 2, 2015 Finale celebration.

Ed Alton - 2014 Hartt Alumni Award Recipient

Bachelor of Music,
Double Bass/Composition '81
Hartt Alumni Award 2014

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 The Hartt School is pleased to announce that Ed Alton, BMus ’81 will be honored with the 2014 Hartt Alumni Award at the annual Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 18, 2014. The award honors an alumnus who has achieved professional and critical recognition of distinguished professional accomplishments as an artist, scholar, or educator in an area of the performing arts.

Mr. Alton has sustained an impressive career in the Los Angeles TV, film and recording industries for nearly thirty years. To date, he has composed scores for over 530 episodes of 31 different prime time network TV series and performed as bassist on over 70 feature film soundtracks. His career has been distinguished by numerous accolades including five ASCAP Top TV Composer Awards, an Emmy Nomination, and several Gold & Platinum record awards.

Hartt Guitar Department - 50th Anniversary Celebration

The following post is copied from the Alumni Newsletter of The Hartt School's Guitar Department.  I am re-posting it here to further encourage everyone to attend the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Guitar Department.
 
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Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration

Hello all,

Plans are moving surprisingly smoothly for our fiftieth anniversary celebration. Thanks to grants from the Augustine Foundation and LaBella Strings as well as contributions by several of our alumni we are $1000. away from raising the necessary $14,500. needed to underwrite the cost of Andrew York’s concert and the commissioning of Frank Wallace’s incredible eight-part work, As it Could Be, for the celebration. I’m hoping that many of you will be able to contribute to the fund so that we can reach our goal. No gift is too small or too large. If you are so inclined, please make the check payable to the University of Hartford and send it to me % The Hartt School, 200 Bloomfield Ave., W. Hartford, CT 06117. I would like to be able to say that all of the money raised came from Foundations or alumni.

 What do we have planned?

 Friday, April 11: 7:30 Auerbach Auditorium:  Solo Recital by Andy York.

 We begin the celebration with a concert by Andy York.  Andy has been a friend of the department for many years and has graciously altered his fee to meet our limited resources. After the concert, we will hang out at the Republic, our new hangout just one mile from the University.

 Saturday, April 12:

Saturday we have a full schedule of events. All events are in Millard
     9:00 AM -11:00AM Open rehearsals At this point we are not sure what groups performing that evening will be rehearsing.
     11:30-12:30: Suzuki guitar presentation. Nick Cutroneo
     12:30-1:30:  John LaBarbara. New music for guitar
1:30- Break
      2:00 -5:00: Rehearsal for Attic by Andrew York alumni, students, faculty community. This will be the concluding work
     on this evening’s program

 5:00- 7:30: Dinner Break: If enough people are interested, the Republic will make the restaurant available to us for dinner.

 8:00 PM: Anniversary Concert: World Premiere of Frank Wallace’s As It Could Be, made possible by a grant from the 

Augustine Foundation.

1) Changes Upon the Guitar, violin, viola and seven guitars
2) A Tune Beyond Us, violin, viola and guitar
3) A Wisp in the Underground, guitar solo    
4) If to Serenade, flute and guitar
5) Tom-tom, c'est moi, percussion and guitar
6) The Whirling Noise, viola and guitar   
7) Crying Among the Clouds, guitar solo
8) A World Quite Round, guitar quartet

NOTES

These eight works comprise As It Could Be, a chamber suite dedicated to the Hartt School of Music Guitar Department and it's founder/director Richard Provost on the occasion of their 50th anniversary.  Dick suggested using The Man with the Blue Guitar by Wallace Stevens (a resident of Hartford, CT) as a source of lyrics for a song. I chose to use this incredible testimony to art as inspiration and have selected titles for all 8 pieces from the poem. Thank you Dick (and all your colleagues) who brought the guitar out of the dark ages and into a brilliant new community of creativity and progress through your courage, hard work and vision. Let us imagine a future as it could be.

The concert will conclude with a performance of Attic, by Andy York performed by students, area guitarists, and alumni of the department.

 If you will be attending and want to play in the guitar orchestra, (which I hope many of you will) please send Chris an email so that we can send you your part. (ladd@hartford.edu.Our goal is to have at least fifty guitarists on stage performing. If you are timid, rest assured that we will have a core group that has rehearsed and will cover all of the parts. They will be happy to help you during the rehearsal to get you comfortable for the performance. For those of you who have not been doing much with the guitar, this work was written for amateurs. There are several pretty basic parts in the work. If you’re still not sure, let Chris know and he will email you a part to see if your are up to the challenge.

Spring 2014 Performance - Highlights

Below are some highlights from the Spring 2014 Hartt performance calendar.  There are multiple performances at Hartt nearly every night of the semester, so this is just a sampling of the performance from the Music Division and the Richard P. Garmany Chamber Music Series. 

Hope to see you at some of these performances.

January 30 – February 2 – Alfred C. Fuller Music Center/Millard Auditorium

Hartt Opera Theatre presents Kurt Weill's Street Scene, with music direction by Doris Lang Kosloff and stage direction by Lawrence Edelson.

February 6 – Alfred C. Fuller Music Center/Millard Auditorium

The Richard P. Garmany Chamber Music Series – Sybarite5.  One the fastest-rising chamber music ensembles in the United States, the string quintet (quartet plus bass) Sybarite5 has been earning rave reviews and cheering audiences from coast to coast. After winning the prestigious Concert Artists Guild Competition last year (the same competition previously won by Imani Winds, eighth blackbird, and many other now-celebrated artists) the group enjoyed a raucous, sold-out debut performance at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall. Its latest album, Everything in its Right Place, is a collection of Radiohead songs arranged expressly for them.

February 14 & 15 – Lincoln Theater

Hartt Collage - An Evening of Continuous Music, Dance, and Theatre.  Hartt’s gift to the community, Hartt’s annual Collage Concert features continuous music, dance, and theatre. This concert is FREE, but tickets are required. Early reservations are recommended.

March 1 – Trinity Episcopal Church, 120 Sigourney St., Hartford

Music for a Large Space (a public gathering) by David Macbride.  The premiere performance of Music for a Large Space (a public gathering) for winds, brass, percussion, vocalists, and audience by Hartt faculty composer David Macbride, with the Hartt Symphony Band (James Jackson, Director) and the Hartt Independent Singers (Matt Cramer, vocalist leader).

March 7 - Cathedral of St. Joseph, 140 Farmington Avenue, Hartford

Mozart Requiem – The 140 voices of The Hartt School choruses and the Soli Deo Gloria Orchestra, the cathedral's resident chamber orchestra, will present an inspirational program featuring Mozart's Requiem under the direction of Edward Bolkovac, The featured soloists will include Louise Fauteux, soprano, Hartt alumni Judy Bowers, mezzo soprano, and Craig Hart, bass, as well as current Hartt doctoral student Jerron Jorgensen, tenor. The concert will also include additional incidental music by Mozart and Albinoni.

Alumni Event in NYC on January 13, 2014

REMINDER The University of Hartford Alumni Association and The Hartt School invite you to join us for an Alumni Reception with Dean Aaron Flagg during the Association of Performing Arts Presenters' NYC conference Monday, January 13 6–8 p.m. Etcetera Etcetera 352 West 44th Street New York, New York Register online by January 9 Meet up with old friends, network with other alumni, and hear news about the University of Hartford and The Hartt School from Dean Flagg. A cash bar with one free drink ticket and one hour of complimentary hors d’ouevres will be provided.  For further information, contact the Alumni Office at 860.768.2400 or alumni@hartford.edu.

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Hartt’s Honorary Degrees Given in the 1990s

In past posts, I have highlighted the honorary degrees awarded by Hartt during the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

In the 1990s, Hartt awarded two honorary degrees.  The first was to pianist Grant Johannesen in 1993.

More information about Mr. Johannesen can be found here.

   
The other was awarded to Hartt alumnus (‘51) and composer Jack Elliott in 1997.

This photo was taken of Mr. Elliott during a masterclass at Hartt.  If you are not familiar with Mr. Elliott’s name, you certainly have heard his music.  I encourage you to check out his Wikipedia page here. 

Also, Mrs. Bobbi Elliott donated a significant amount of Mr. Elliott’s materials to Hartt, which now holds The Jack Elliot Collection.  More information about the The Jack Elliott Collection and The Jack Elliott Legacy Project to follow in a later post.

Upcoming Alumni Gathering

Do you live near Dallas? 
Are you attending the Jazz Education Network's Conference in January?


If the answer is "yes" to either of those questions, you are invited to Dinner and Conversation with faculty members Nat Reeves and Shawnn Monteiro-Huelbig on Thursday, January 9, 6-7:30 p.m. at Pyramid Restaurant.

If you would like to attend, or for further information, contact Philip Grover at 860.768.4468 or pgrover@hartford.edu.

________________________________

So many alumni report fond memories of their years at the
University of Hartford. Some things have changed since you
studied here, we're sure. What haven't changed are our
values and the integrity of relationships formed here. We
hope to continue aligning our history with our future in a
way that generates excitement amongst our alumni.

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More information about the upcoming gathering in NYC on January 13, 2014 coming soon.

Hartt Gala 2013

The 12th Annual Hartt Gala took place last Saturday, October 19, two days ago as I write this, at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Hartford. It was a blast. Over 300 people attended including several Hartt alums, one of whom, Miguel Vasquez, of the Class of 2013, sang brilliantly and thanked those present for their contributions which had made his arrival and continued attendance at Hartt possible in the first place.

 The scheduled performances, all by Hartt students -- a chorus of pre-college students from the Community Division, a second chorus from the college and then four student performers from the musical, Barnum, two of whom were performing on stilts -- were all enthusiastically received by the audience… as they should have been. They were terrific. The live auction was fun with Maestro Edward Cumming filling the role as auctioneer for the second year in a row. A lot of the trips that were up for bid were sold out quickly and at least two of them were sold at least twice over. Hartt can use the money. And, Steve Metcalf and Mike Morris topped off the evening with their post-gala cabaret featuring pop music, unrehearsed and often wonderfully surprising, in a sing along that has now become a traditional way both to wind down and still continue the festiveness of the event. After all, why would such a youthful, hip audience, especially one as young as this one was (sic), want to go home and turn out the lights on Saturday night at 10:00 P.M? Besides, the Red Sox Game 7 Victory didn’t end until after midnight. There was plenty of time to catch the ending.

 BTW, even Dean Aaron Flagg sang a solo, I’m told, though, alas, I had to exit before that.  I’m sure that alone was worth the price of admission. Did anybody video it, I wonder? You-tube here we come???

Oh yeah, I almost forgot the food and drinks were plentiful and very tasty as always. Yum!

 One of the great bits of fun at the gala for me is always the chance to bump into someone out of one’s past, recent or not so recent, and spend a few minutes reminiscing and catching up. One of those was Dr. Watson Morrison, better known as ”Will” Morrison to many of us, who turns 85 on Sunday, November 10^th of this year and will be celebrating his birthday in his annual concert in Millard Auditorium at 3:00 P.M. on that day. He still plays “Willfully” and wonderfully. I hope that many of you who remember him “Will” -- Upper Case “W” definitely intended -- do your best to attend this memorable concert and have a piece of birthday cake with us afterwards.

 The best thing about the gala, for me, and yet at the same time not-the-best, is to hear newcomers to the event rave about the quality of the student performances. It’s terrific, of course, but it’s still so  surprising as Hartt approaches its own significant birthday. In this case, Hartt will turn 100 years old in seven years and there are so many locals who seem to know so little about the place.

What can I say? We’re working on spreading the word and the Hartt Board, under the inspired leadership of Tracy Flater in this area, is constantly inviting new Hartford area residents to student performances to increase awareness and to lessen the number of concert goers and potential friends of Hartt who remain unaware of the terrific actors, dancers and musicians all of whom continue to inspire those of us who are so proud to remain in the know.

Hope to see even more of you at next year’s 13^th Annual Gala.

Hartt's Honorary Degrees Given in the 1980s

Prior to the 1980s, the honorary degrees Hartt awarded focused on professionals in the classical music arena and the benefactors without whose help Hartt would not have been possible.

The 1980s, however, had a different focus.  Jackie McLean started the Department of African American Music in 1980.  Some prominent jazz artists were awarded degrees and even some of the "classical" musicians were clearly within the sphere of the jazz world.  For example, David Amram is difficult to categorize as a classical composer, especially since he has well-known as a jazz french horn player, who appeared regularly with Dizzy Gillespie.  Even Yehudi Menuhin recorded some jazz collaborations.

Nevertheless, here is the next installment of the Hartt Honorary Degree Recipients.

1982 - John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie

Alumni Panel at Paranov Hour/Musicianship

Recently, two Hartt alumni returned the Hartt to speak with students during a panel discussion - Tales from the Front Lines - during Paranov Hour, which is the current iteration of the Musicianship class many of us attended. Michael Thornton ('79) and Mary Junda ('79) gave freely of their time, memories and advice to the students.  Dean Flagg moderated the panel.  After introducing Michael and Mary, Dean Flagg asked a sereis of questions to the guests for their comments and then opened up the microphone for students to ask what was on their mind about life after Hartt.

By way of introduction, Dr. Mary Junda is currently Professor of Music at the University of Connecticut teaching choral music and world music.  Her work, and clearly her passion, includes studies of the Gullah people of the Sea Islands off the coast of Georgia and South Carolina.  She explained that this culture was cut off from the mainland U.S. for many years, which helped preserve its rich traditions strongly influence by its ancestral roots in Africa.

Michael Thornton also attended Hartt as a music education major, but his career has taken him in a very different direction.  After further study at The Acting Studio and other theaters, Michael helped found and sustain The Capitol Steps, a show of comedy and songs parodying politics and politicians.  He produces his own theater productions and his experience on the stage is wonderfully varied.