Update to Hartt Alumni

Here is the September 2015 email update sent from the Hartt Board of Trustees' Alumni Committee to all alumni for who the University of Hartford has an email address.

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Dear Fellow Hartt Alumni, I hope you have been well since last summer’s email sent to all Hartt alumni about the exciting things that were happening at Hartt and preview for the 2014–15 year. Now, I wanted to reach out, once again, on behalf of the Hartt Board of Trustees’ Alumni Committee to highlight some of the exciting things that happened at Hartt during the past year and to preview some upcoming events. Hartt, and the University of Hartford as a whole, have made a real commitment to improving alumni engagement. Everyone at Hartt wants you to feel a continuing connection to the school and this update is one way we are doing that. We hope that you will consider coming to a performance, reaching out individually to a former professor, attending an alumni event, or finding another way to remain involved. For now, let’s talk about our alma mater.

THEATRE DIVISION presented the rarely performed musical On Your Toes and is preparing for Nicholas Nickleby.

In 1936, the musical On Your Toes, written by Rodgers and Hart, opened on Broadway.  Prior to Hartt’s production, On Your Toes had never been performed north of New York City. The show, which requires both a full ballet company and a music theater company, is a massive undertaking. Hartt’s production was directed by Alan Rust, director of the Theatre Division, and choreographed by Ralph Perkins and Stephen Pier. A full orchestra, conducted by Edward Cumming, skillfully added an important component to the grand show, which includes the jazz ballet "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue." This coming year, the Theatre Division will present another rare production. Charles Dickens’s Nickolas Nickleby will be performed in two parts on consecutive nights and both parts combined during weekend days in November. The Hartt School Theatre Division Presents The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickelby Presented in Two Parts Tuesday–Sunday Nov. 3–8, 2015 Part I: Tuesday and Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 3 p.m. Part II: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Dickens’s England Evening Package Saturday or Sunday Parts I and II with a traditional Dickensian dinner between shows, hosted at the University of Hartford’s 1877 Club. Tickets are available by visiting hartford.edu/tickets or calling 860.768.4228.

Hartt Alumni Award—2015 Recipient and a Call for 2016 Nominations

Boykin speaks on Lincoln stage in May. Phillip Boykin ’95 was the 2015 Alumni Award recipient. Boykin was presented this honor at the Hartt Commencement in May. At commencement, Boykin spoke passionately to the graduating students and assembled guests sharing both the struggles he has experienced and his triumphs. He was a featured performer in the recent Broadway production of On The Town, Boykin has had an amazing career since graduating Hartt. Visit his webpage. If you know of a Hartt alumnus or alumna worthy of consideration for the Hartt Alumni Award, please nominate him or her.

Hartt Welcomes a New Class as the Tradition of Opening Convocation Continues!

Dedication of Hartt's New Harpsichord

On Sunday, September 20, 2015, Hartt will present a special concert to unveil and dedicate the new harpsichord that it commissioned.  The harpsichord was custom built by Norfolk, Conn., resident Carl Dudash.

To mark the acquisition, Hartt's internationally recognized faculty will present a free concert of music written in the heyday of the harpsichord.
A Musical Offering: An Inaugural Concert of the Dudash Harpsichord will take place at 5 p.m. in Berkman Recital Hall.

 
A pre-concert lecture by Professor of Music History Kenneth Nott on the importance to the harpsichord of preserving and studying music of the Baroque period will begin at 4:30 p.m.

“A large body of music — primarily composed before 1760 — requires the harpsichord in either a solo or chamber capacity,” said Nott. “This acoustic harpsichord will provide an essential source of rhythm and harmonic support to our music students, who will benefit immensely from its use.”

Fall/Winter 2015 Hartt Performances

Here is the Hartt Performance calendar for 2015 Fall and Winter.

Check back here soon for a list of performances that will be live streamed. 

Summer 2015 newsletter

The Summer 2015 newsletter from Interim Dean Clark Sanders can be read in full here.

5 Questions with Steve Wenig

Steve Wenig (B.M. ‘95) studied Music Theory and Trumpet at Hartt from 1990 to 1995.  He is currently living in Houston, TX.

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

After graduating from Hartt in 1995, I went to the University of Michigan to work on a master degree in trumpet performance.  Although I did my undergraduate work in Music Theory at Hartt, it was the opportunity to study with great teachers, like Chris Gekker, Roger Murtha and Jay Lichtmann which really got me excited about trumpet playing.  Those opportunities, combined with the opportunities to play a good deal of heavy duty repertoire with the Hartt Symphony Orchestra, really lit a fire in me for orchestral trumpet performance.

After finishing my masters, I freelanced, taught lessons and took a ton of orchestral auditions. Well, 37 to be exact but who’s counting.  My wife and I moved to Houston, Texas and in 2004 an opportunity to work as the assistant personnel manager of the Houston Symphony presented itself.  

Constant auditioning and no orchestral job to show for it was beginning to take its toll so I figured that I would try an administrative position and if it turns out that I really miss trumpet playing then I’d know for sure to keep auditioning.  As it turns out, I really enjoyed working closely with the orchestra, even in a non-playing capacity and I’ve been working in orchestral management ever since.  After being the Asst. PM, I became the Personnel Manager and worked in that capacity for about 7 years. Personnel Managers occupy a crucial link between orchestral musicians and their employer.  It is also really thrilling to be in this part of the business and seeing all the work behind the scenes that goes into how a full-time Symphony orchestra operates.  As you might imagine, having a background as a musician was invaluable in this role.

What are you involved with right now?

Currently I still work for the Houston Symphony but am now the Director of Community Partnerships.  In this role, I help develop community relevant concerts and programming and also maintain the relationships with a number of community organizations, social service agencies and other cultural institutions.  This summer, we just launched a new Community Embedded Musician program.  This is a new group of string musicians who focus primarily on teaching and community work while also appearing as substitute musicians with the orchestra.  I also help advance the Symphony’s diversity and inclusion initiatives as it pertains to the Symphony’s relevance within the community.

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

What was most memorable about Hartt were the friendships and networks that were developed and are still valued and in use today.

What did you learn during while at Hartt that you did not appreciate or recognize until after time passed and you had some time to reflect?

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.

Video - Foot in the Door ensemble performs in Iceland

In preparation for Foot in the Door’s two performances at the 2015 Dark Music Days Festival, Iceland’s annual showcase for innovative and progressive contemporary music at Harpa in Reykjavík, the group went on a whirlwind mini-tour of the countryside giving three drop-in concerts along the way.

Hartt's contingent included current students, faculty and alumni. 

Here is a video of the tour produced by Hartt faculty member, Gabe Herman.