2017 Alumni Award - Martha Summa

Martha Summa ('83) has been selected to receive the 2017 Hartt Alumni Award. Dr. Summa's career combines her passions for performance, education and music therapy. This honor will be awarded to Martha at the 2017 Commencement exercises in May.  Congratulations to Martha!


For additional information on Martha, see her website.  http://marthasumma.com/index.html
Here is a Ted Talk that Martha gave.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCM4JPmPJcI

5 Questions with Jason Solomonides

Mr. Solomonides graduated from the University of Hartford College of Engineering, Technology & Architecture (CETA) with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and a Minor in Piano Performance from The Hartt School in 1985.  Jason is a long time student of Prof. Raymond Hanson, Chairman of Piano Emeritus at both Julius Hartt and the Hartt College School of Music; studying with Prof. Hanson from 1975 to 1988.  He is currently living in Cromwell, CT with his wife Dr. Kerry O’Neal and twin daughters, Alexis and Keira, ages 4 ½.

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

I am currently Chief Engineer, Controls & Diagnostics - Pratt & Whitney (P&W) – United Technologies Corporation (UTC); with a proud 32 year tenure and am the recipient of 4 technical patents.  As Chief of Controls, I have the program management and technical responsibility for the design, development and deployment of the Control & Diagnostic Systems and Software for all of P&W's commercial and military engine programs.

After graduating from the University of Hartford I completed my M.S.E.E from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1988 and went on to complete the Executive M.B.A program at the University of Connecticut in 2000.

Since graduating from Hartt, I have had also had an active musical career.  In addition to performing numerous solo recitals across Connecticut between 1985 and 1998, I was invited to performed as part of the prestigious Asylum Hill Music Series in Harford in 1991, and performed a solo United Way Fund Raiser Piano Recital called “Sonatas and Sweets” in 1994 at the Werner Centennial Theatre in Simsbury, CT, sponsored by UTC and was interviewed live on-air by Ray Dunaway of WTIC-AM, prior to the concert.
What are you involved with right now?
I was invited to give a lecture and perform a solo recital as part of the annual Mason & Hamlin University conference held at the piano factory in Haverhill, MA on September 15 & 16, 2016 and recently received the honor of being named a Mason & Hamlin Artist.  I am currently recording my active repertoire for the company, and in the process of producing a series of PianoDisc recordings. 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkP65I5BsNirTcv-nAHm4BXXsCbB_EbAJ

I continue to talk with and study with 97 year old Prof. Raymond Hanson!

What is most memorable about your time at Hartt?

Probably my most memorable moment while attending the Hartt School of Music was winning the Hartt School of Music Concerto Competition entering my Senior Year as an Engineering Major, and subsequently performing Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in Eb with the Hartt Symphony Orchestra, guest conducted by Maestro Frank Collura on March 7 & 8, 1985.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YqQ-OpIQBk&t=2s&index=1&list=PLkP65I5BsNiq8-p9W3fyJKgMc7oqXCdQO

Of course, having studied at the Hartt School for so many years, there were many other memorable moments.  Performing solo recitals, as part of the Bach-Liszt and Mozart-Prokofiev recital series, at the ASK House on Prospect Ave. – including a performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25 in C, K.503, with Prof. Anne Koscielny, accompanying. Still fresh in my mind was performing and participating in Master Classes with Dr. Moshe Paranov at Millard Auditorium.  During my high school years at Julius Hartt, I studied the violin for five years with Prof. Abraham Mishkind and was awarded First Prize – Piano at both the Hartford Symphony Competition (1981) and Performer of Connecticut Competition (1981). I was also chosen to perform the Grieg Piano Concerto in Am, with the Greater Hartford Youth Orchestra, conducted by Prof. Bernard Lurie on May 10, 1981.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udKjPrt8jXM&list=PLkP65I5BsNiq8-p9W3fyJKgMc7oqXCdQO&index=6

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?

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.

 

Hartt History: 1936 - 1955

1936 - Julius Hartt retires as director of The Hartford Musical Foundation and the name of the foundation is changed to The Julius Hartt Musical Foundation in his honor.


1937 - Alfred C. Fuller becomes a member of the Board of Trustees.

1938 - The Board purchases 187 Broad Street in Hartford from the Hartford Seminary.  Dedication exercises are held and feature Harold Bauer, one of the world's greatest pianists, with the Hartt School Chorus and Orchestra.  Samuel Berkman is appointed Dean of the Julius Hartt School of Music.

Moshe Paranov is appointed Music Director at WTIC.

1939 - Irene Kahn, accomplished ensemble player and accompanist, joins Moshe Paranov in the first of many highly acclaimed duo-piano recitals at the new Broad Street location.

1940 - By vote of the Connecticut State Board of Education, Hartt becomes the first independent institution in the state with the right to confer the Bachelor of Music degree.

Alfred Einstein, preeminent German musicologist and critic, joins the Hartt faculty.

1942 - Dr. Elemer Nagy joins the Hartt faculty.  The first Hartt opera production, a double bill, is presented.  The program features the first American performance of Franz von Suppe's Ten Maidens and No Man, Moshe Paranov conducting, and the first Hartford performance of Paul Hindemith's Here and There, with Hindemith conducting.

Hartt History: 1895 - 1935

1895 - Morris Perlmutter is born on Pequot Street, Hartford, CT.


1909 - Julius Hartt moves to Hartford from Boston and assumes the position of organist at Asylum Hill Congregational Church.

Morris Perlmutter begins work as a pianist in theatres and hotels in Hartford and, later that year, becomes the conductor of the Good Will Club Orchestra whose artistic advisor is Julius Hartt.

1912 - Morris Perlmutter debuts at Hartford's Unity Hall on Pratt Street in a performance of Beethoven's G Major Piano Sonata.

1914 - Julius Hartt becomes Music Editor for the Hartford Times.

Director's Message from 1952 Still Resonates

To recognize the 100th blog post, here are two pages from the Hartt's 1952 Allegro Yearbook.

Moshe Paranov, circa 1952

I was not around in those years, but I gather that there was a yearbook published each school year.  This was the Director's Message from Moshe Paranov.  The message is equally valid today.

5 Questions with Aaron Krasting

Aaron Krasting (Bachelor of Music in Music Education, 1993) studied music education at Hartt from 1989 to 1993.  He is currently living in West Deptford, New Jersey.

 

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

 

Life has been extremely busy since I graduated from Hartt. My first teaching job was in the Pennsville, New Jersey middle and high schools. I was the choir director there for three years. During that time, I grew up a lot. I can honestly say some tough lessons were learned. Musically speaking, I accomplished a great deal. I had the opportunity to perform with the late Robert Shaw for three special concerts at Carnegie Hall. I can definitely thank Drs. Gerald Mack and Pamela Perry for the high level of preparation for such incredible opportunities. I also became the tenor soloist and section leader at historic Christ Church in Philadelphia, a position held for 5 years (thanks to Jack Zei for the vocal preparation). I lost my job in Pennsville due to a reduction in force.

 

After a few very short stints in other jobs, I became the choir director and theater producer at Paulsboro High School in Paulsboro, New Jersey -a short 7 minute drive from my childhood home. I am still at Paulsboro. While here, I received the school and district Teacher of the Year honors in 2001 and, in 2010, was selected to conduct the All South Jersey Junior High Honors Chorus. Over the last 20 years, I held other performance positions at churches -including Trinity Episcopal Church in Moorestown, NJ where I currently am- and performed on the stages of area semi-professional theaters, namely the Ritz Theater in Oaklyn, NJ and the Broadway Theater in Pitman, NJ where, most recently, I played the part of Edna Turnblad in Hairspray. I also performed with Philadelphia's professional choir, the Philadelphia Singers, as well as the Philadelphia Boyschoir and Chorale with my sons, and directed/vocal directed many productions at the high school and semi-professional level.

 

Personally speaking, after graduating from Hartt, I married Tina Oslin, whom I was dating while in school. We have 3 great sons (Michael, who is preparing for a career as a tenor, Tyler, who is currently singing with the Philadelphia Boyschoir, and Christopher, who is in the Boyschoir training program) and we successfully built Tina’s Polynesian dance business and our summer theater programs. We have, however, divorced amicably.  I am happy and have a new love, Becky, in my life.  We’ll see what the next half of my life has in store!

 

What are you involved with right now?

 

Right now, I have just completed the coursework for my Masters Degree in School Leadership at Wilmington University. I'm looking forward to the challenges that go with becoming an administrator for the remainder of my career. I have also decided to basically retire from performing to focus on my new profession and life. A performer can’t stay away forever, so I do hope to return to singing and the stage someday. Right now, I’m enjoying watching my sons perform. I’ll actually be bringing my son, Michael, for a visit to Hartford as a possible college choice.

 

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

 

There were many memorable things that happened while at Hartt. 1) While at the University of Hartford, I was a Red Cap as part of the Preview Orientation program, serving as the director of the group my senior year. As such, I was involved with helping incoming freshmen select their courses and prepare for their lives as Hartt students. Thanks Joan Glazer for all your help, guidance, and support as I did this. 2) My freshman year, Hartt celebrated the birthday of William Schumann. Preparing for that celebration imbedded music in my head that I find myself humming to this day (On Freedoms Ground). 3) The Hartt Chamber Singers (if memory serves right) performed at the MENC Eastern Division convention in Pittsburgh. 4) I also attended the ACDA National Convention in Phoenix which was an amazing experience (thanks Tom Nerbonne). There were more, but 3 is enough

 

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?