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.

Doreen Ketchens Performing as Soloist with Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra

Doreen Ketchens' Performance of "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in March 21, 2018

Phillip Boykin starring in Broadway revival of Once on this Island

After appearing on Broadway in Sunday in the Park with George, On the Town, etc., Phillip Boykin is currently starring as TonTon in the revival of Once on this Island.  I saw the performance and can say from firsthand experience that he is terrific and the cast is wonderful.


Congratulations, Phillip!

 

 

 

Conversation with Peter Furlong on His New Recording

Thanks for taking the time to converse with me, again, Peter.

 

Q. First question - it has been a little while since you participated in the 5 Questions interview series. What have you been doing professionally since then?

 

A. Really? Only a little while? Well, it feels like 2015 was only a short while ago, that’s for sure. 

 

Back to the question, what have I been doing... Most recently I recorded a CD of Mahler’s piano version of Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth) which was just released in August 2017 in the US and is getting some nice reviews and I’m quite proud of this little CD. 

 

I have been training for some heavy duty Wagner roles. There’s been quite a buzz going around Berlin and Germany in general about me being a ‘real’ Heldentenor (Heroic tenor), which is both exciting and utterly frightening. 

 

I’m going to auditions in New York and Boston this winter to get some buzz happening in the US as well. 

 

I’ve sung quite a few concerts and Liederabends, the most recent being a Liederabend of Beethoven’s ‘An die ferne Geliebte’ (To the distant beloved) which was quite nicely received, and all of Copland’s 'Old American Songs' which I sang with my wife, Julie Wyma (who also sang Debussy’s ‘Ariettes Oubliées). A  hometown concert I did in Framingham, Mass in 2016 was great fun (especially as I hadn’t sung in Framingham in 29 years). Seeing one’s High School Music teacher and realizing he has somehow not aged at all is an amazing/humbling feeling. Doing concerts in the US also allows me to return to being a grease monkey, repairing the old cars and various motorbikes my family has accumulated and cared for.

 

Reaching further back, I performed the roles of Max in ‘Der Freischütz’ and Adam in “Der Vogelhändler’ at Kloster Chorin here on the outskirts of Berlin. 

 

Add to that being a dad to an amazing little violinist (who attended River’s School Conservatory Summer Camp this past summer) and all around smart cookie, and the husband to my wonderfully amazing wife - life has been good. 

 

Q. This is all very exciting.  I want to circle back to the performances in a bit, but first a few questions about the recording.  I recall studying Das Lied von der Erde in 20th Century Lit. class with the late James Sellers – a terrific work.  That was the version with full orchestration.  Tell me a little more about the piano version and how you came to select that work in particular for this recording.

 

James Sellars Memorial Celebration

On December 6, 7, and 8, 2017, The Hartt School celebrated the musical life and legacy of James Sellars, Professor of Composition 1978 - 2002.  Composers, performers, faculty, alumni, current students, and friends gathered for a series of performances of James' music and music composed in his honor.  Robert Black organized the effort with the help of many others.

Two Hartt Alumni to Be Featured at Tanglewood

A pair of Hartt alumni, Phillip Boykin and Ryan Speedo Green, will be among the featured soloists at this seasons' Tanglewood performances.

On July 8, Phillip will perform with the Boston Pops Orchestra in a program titled Sondheim on Sondheim.  This follows Phillip's recent run on Broadway in Sunday in the Park with George.  More information on this performance can be found here.  Boykin Performance

PHILLIP BOYKIN (Bass-Baritone) is a 2012 Tony Award, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards Nominee for his work in THE GERSHWIN'S PORGY AND BESS. He is the 2012 Winner of a Theatre World Award as well as the International Reviewers of New England Awards and The Distinguished Alumni Award from The Hartt School. Phillip is a native of Greenville, SC who now resides in NJ. Other performances include; the Broadway Revivals of ON THE TOWN and SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, the roles of Joe in the National Tour SHOW BOAT and at several Regional theaters including Sacramento Music Theater, The Pirate King/Samuel in PIRATES OF PENZANCE NY City Center and Barrington Stage, Ken in AIN'T MISBEHAVIN', Crown/Jake in the Opera PORGY AND BESS, Tarquinius in THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA, Caiaphas in JCS, and JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR GOSPEL, the HARLEM GOSPEL SINGERS, Fred in SMOKEY JOE'S CAFÉ, and Don Alfonso in COSI FAN TUTTI to name a few. Phillip performed as Booker T. Washington in the Anniversary Concert of RAGTIME at Lincoln Center. He also made is Carnegie Hall debut in BROADWAY CLASSICS. Mr. Boykin portrayed the role of Big Hand in the movie FREEDOM starring Cuba Gooding Jr., and Sharon Leal. Recently The Driver in TOP FIVE a movie starring, written and directed by Chris Rock, Caiaphas in John O'Boyle's EASTER MYSTERIES and was featured as the cover story of Classical Singer Magazine. He's a graduate of the University of Hartford's Hartt School of Music in CT; he also studied Jazz and Vocal Performance at SC State University, Howard University and the NC School of the Arts. Phillip has toured throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, Russia, Poland and North America. Mr. Boykin is the Founder, Director and Manager of the NYGOSPEL BROTHERS. For more information or to purchase his CD/DVD entitled "You Believed In Me" please visit www.PhillipBoykin.com.

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Ryan Speedo Green will perform on July 30 with the BSO Orchestra and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus as a featured soloist in William Walton's Belshazzar's Feast.  Additional information on this performance can be found here. Green Performance 

Bass-Baritone Ryan Speedo Green, a native of Suffolk, Virginia, recently completed the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera. Praised by Anothony Tommasini for his "robust voice," Ryan will join the Wiener Staatsoper as a company member in the 2014 - 2015 season member and will be featured as Sparafucile in a new production of Rigoletto, as well as Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia among several other assignments. He will also appear as Rambo in the Met premier of The Death of Klinghoffer conducted by David Robertson. The 2013-2014 season saw a return to the stage of the Met to sing the Bonze in Madama Butterfly and the Jailer in Tosca. The same season also saw his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra as Second Soldier in Salome under the baton of Andris Nelsons and a debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra singing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Other appearances included Son Beau-Pere in a new production of Milhaud's Le pauvre matelot and Zuniga in Carmen with the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap Opera. Ryan made his Metropolitan Opera stage debut in the 2012-2013 season.

Great Performances to Feature Ellis Island: The Dream of America by Peter Boyer

PBS’s Great Performances will be recording Ellis Island: The Dream of America by Peter Boyer (MM, DMA in Composition from Hartt) for an upcoming broadcast.  This performance by the Pacific Symphony’s American Composers Festival has been in the planning phase for two years.  This is definitely and exciting and well-deserved performance for Peter.

Here is a story in the Orange County Register.  http://www.ocregister.com/articles/boyer-748076-island-ellis.html

This wonderful work is for orchestra, narrators and projected images.  The case for this performance includes:

• Tony Award-winning Barry Bostwick (“Spin City,” “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” the original Broadway “Grease”)
• Emmy- and Golden-winning Camryn Manhein (”The Practice,” “Ghost Whisperer,” “Elvis”)
• Michael Nouri (“Flashdance,” “The Proposal,” “Finding Forrester,” “Damages”)
• Lesley Fera (“Pretty Little Liars,” “24,” “CSI Miami”)
• Samantha Sloyan (“Scandal,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Hush”)
• Lucas Near-Verbrugghe (“Our Idiot Brother,” “Lazy Eye”)
• Kira Sternbach (“Neighbors,” “My Normal”)

Partnerships with Arts Orgnizations Continues with Concert at Infinity Hall

One of the things Hartt has done in the past few years, and that it will continue to do, is establish partnerships and working relationships with area arts organizations.  Students contribute to the success of these organizations and, in turn, they receive valuable professional experience while still in school.  Some of the examples are partnerships with The Hartford Stage, Goodspeed Theater, and the Stamford Symphony. 
Another important relationship is the one Hartt has with Hartford's Infinity Hall & Bistro.  This Saturday, Dec. 3, will be a great day at the venue featuring current students from Hartt's jazz division and a performance by alumnus Javier Colon.  Please support these concerts.  If you haven't been to Infinity, you are in for a treat.

 

Marth Summa-Chadwick gives TEDx talk

Here is a link to a TEDx talk by Hartt alumna Martha Summa-Chadwick, titled Dance of the Neutral Tango.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCM4JPmPJcI 

Beautiful Life - Jimmy Greene

I had the pleasure of attending a performance last night by Jimmy Greene ('97).  He was performing with his quartet at The Side Door jazz club in Old Lyme, Connecticut.  The Side Door is an excellent venue attached to the Old Lyme Inn, both of which are owned by Ken and Jan Kitchings. The club is now one of the most important jazz venues in New England and worthy of our support.  (As an extra bonus, Jimmy Macbride, son of Hartt professor David Macbride, was performing in the quartet last night.)

The primary reason for attending The Side Door last night was, however, being able to hear Jimmy.  He has been performing music from his recent album, Beautiful Life.  If you have not yet purchased a copy of the album, do yourself and others a favor and do so.  The music itself makes the purchase well worth your investment.  There is, no doubt, that Jimmy is a wonderful composer, musician, and saxophonist.  As a [former] saxophonist myself, I was so very appreciative of and inspired by Jimmy's craft as a saxophonist.  He is among the very best tenor saxophonists I have ever heard.
 
There are additional reasons to purchase the album and treat yourself to attending Jimmy's performances.  Beautiful Life also features appearances by Kenny Barron, Cyrus Chestnut, Javier Colon, Christian McBride, Pat Metheny, musicians of the Hartford Symphony, and others.  Jimmy's composition are wonderful and the performances don't leave the listener wanting for anything but to listen again.

Most importantly, as many of you are aware, Ana Grace Greene, the daughter of Jimmy and his wife, Nelba Marquez-Greene ('97), was murdered on December 14, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  Beautiful Life is a celebration of Ana's life.  For a message from Jimmy, please click here.

As Jimmy says "I want the music to reflect the way that Ana lived." Proceeds from Beautiful Life support the Ana Grace Project and The Artists Collective.

Here is Jimmy's upcoming performance schedule.

Now Listen to Performances from the Hartt Archives

We have just launched a new program for Hartt alumni.  You can now listen to the 1992 performance by the Hartt Symphony, Chamber Singers, and soloists of Mozart's Missa Brevis.

From time to time, additional recordings will be added here.

For now, you can listen to the recording and view the Hartt concert program.  There is also a link to a concert program from when this performance was repeated a couple days later in NYC at Lincoln Center.  That NYC program contains a full list of performers.

For your convenience, we have also include a link to the Hartt Recording Studio in case anyone wants to purchase a CD of the recording.

5 Questions with Peter Furlong

Peter Furlong (Master of Music, Vocal Performance) studied at Hartt from 1993 to 1995.  He is currently living in Berlin, Germany. 

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

Hoo, boy.  That’s a long one (which means it’s been a long time).  Right after graduating from Hartt, I was an apprentice at The Santa Fe Opera (for whose audition I sacrificed a vocal jury at Hartt) for two summers.  From there I was a Young Artist at Opera Colorado for three seasons and was eventually asked back to sing as a MainStage artist by none other than Maestro Julius Rudel.  From Denver, I moved to NYC where I sang with Dicapo Opera and I received my three NY Times reviews (all positive, thankfully) during a ten-year period of being a guest artist there.  I also sang with other companies around the US (Opera Colorado, Fort Worth Opera).  Then I moved to Dortmund, Germany to sing a one-year fest contract.  From there I called Italy home for almost ten years while I sang in Italy, Scotland, NYC, Portugal, Ireland, Spain, and Berlin (where I reside, now).  It’s not all been fun and games, though.  There was a two year hiatus to deal with acid reflux which had been making singing impossible and threatening to end my career, and a recent Fach change from lyric tenor to Heldentenor took me out of the performance business for a year to learn a lot of new repertoire.

What are you involved with right now?

Right now, I am co-producing a concert with my wife (soprano Julie Wyma) called Lovers’ Quarrels: Arias and Duets from the dysfunctional world of opera, which we are performing in Niemegk, Germany (Berlin/Brandenburg) on March 27th, and in Concord, NH on April 8th as part of the Walker Lecture Series (free admission).

After that, I am very excited to be singing my first Max in Der Freischütz at Kloster Chorin (Chorin Cloister) near Berlin June 6, 7, and 13.

Then it’s back to the USA to another co-production concert this time called Three Tenors and a Soprano which will be July 23rd as part of the Summer Music Associates concerts in New London, NH.

In addition to the above, I am also a founding member of a group of opera singers here in Berlin called Voci Inglesi. We are a group of classically trained, English speaking singers who are bringing high-quality, English-language opera and art song to European audiences. Our inaugural season begins this July, 2015.

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

Alumni and the 2014 Tony Awards

Alumni of The Hartt School had a big year on Broadway, and several are involved in productions nominated for Tony Awards this week.  Congratulations to all!

The 2014 Tony Award nominations were announced on Tuesday (April 29), and the awards will be handed out on June 8 in a ceremony to air live on CBS.

Here are some of Hartt alumni who are affiliated with Tony-nominated productions:

• Douglas Lyons ’09 and Kevin Duda ’01 are in the cast of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. The show received multiple Tony nominations, including Best Musical.

• John Brink ’09 is in the cast of  Les Misérables, which was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical.

• Orin Wolfe ‘01 is a producer of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, which received multiple Tony nominations, including Best Musical. Wolfe also is a producer of Once, which won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Musical.

The alumni listed above are just a few of the Hartt graduates who have appeared on Broadway during the 2013–14 theater season.  Other Hartt alumni on Broadway include the following:

• Alison Cusano ‘09, is in the cast of A Night with Janis Joplin, and she performed the lead role in previews. The show has now moved off-Broadway.

• Christine Dwyer ‘07 plays the lead role of Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked.

• Hartt alumnus Kyle Wrentz is in the cast of The Lion King.

Thomas Schuttenhelm Selected to Perform at International Guitar Research Centre Symposium

On March 29th 2014, Thomas Schuttenhelm (DMA '01) and soprano Sarah Hersh-Armstrong will perform a recital of American Art Song and Song Cycles (for voice and guitar) at the inaugural symposium of the International Guitar Research Centre in Surrey [just outside of London proper] (UK).

The recital will feature all Hartt composers.  The program includes An Infant Crying by Larry Alan Smith (Hartt faculty), Time in Eternity by Tony Solitro (Hartt alumnus), When I Shut My Eyes by Ken Steen (Hartt faculty), and two of Schuttenhelm's song cycles: One Look Too Close and Tres Canciónes Españolas (text by Cuban-American poet and artist Rafael Oses, a Hartford Art School alumnus).

Christine Dwyer starring in Wicked

Congratulations to Hartt Theatre Alumna, Christine Dwyer.

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.

Hartt Alumnus - Marcos Carreras and the Wyvern Invitational A Cappella Festival

Hartt alumnus, Marcos Carreras, created the Wyvern Invitational A Cappella Festival six years ago.  WIAF is the largest high school a cappella competition in America.  This year's festival will take place this Saturday at the Kingswood Oxford School in West Hartford.

Marcos reports that last year's competition sold out in ten days, so they have made arrangements for streaming this year's competition live across the country at 6:30pm at http://whctv.org/  

Congratulations, Marcos!