The Hartt School presents the Hartt Symphony Orchestra on Friday, October 2, at 7:30 PM in Millard Auditorium, University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford. Christopher Zimmerman leads the orchestra in works by Ravel, Tchaikovsky, and Hartt faculty member Stephen Gryc. Admission is $20, with discounts for seniors, students, and groups. Please call the University Box Office at 860.768.4228 or 800.274.8587 or visit www.hartford.edu/hartt for more information.

The Symphony will perform Ravel's Alborada del Gracioso, conducted by Pierre Alain Chevalier, and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, which Director Christopher Zimmerman describes as "a highly dramatic, beautifully paced work with moments of both exhilaration and poignancy. The balance between the tragic and the uplifting is exquisite." Also in the repertoire is Trombone Concerto, written by Hartt Composition faculty member, Stephen Gryc.

The Hartt Contemporary Players Ensemble performs on Wednesday, October 7, at 7:30 PM in Millard Auditorium on the University of Hartford's West Hartford campus. The Ensemble will open the 2009- 2010 season with contemporary music featuring the trombone. Curated by Hartt trombone professor Ronald Borror, this concert promises to be fantastic. Admission to this event is free. Please call the University Box Office at 860.768.4228 or 800.274.8587 or visit www.hartford.edu/hartt for more information.

The Hartt Wind Ensemble opens its 2009-2010 season on Friday, October 9, at 7:30 PM in Millard Auditorium on the University of Hartford's West Hartford campus. The Chamber Winds concert features music from Jacob, Dvorak, and Stravinsky. Admission is $20 with discounts for seniors, students, and groups. Please call the University Box office at 860.768.4228 or 800.274.8587 or visit www.hartford.edu/hartt for more information.

Each year, the entire Hartt community joins together to celebrate the performing arts at Hartt, and to ensure Hartt's bright future. This year's spectacular event, Hartt Celebrates: The Future of Performing Arts, will be held on November 14, 2009, at the University of Hartford's glorious Handel Performing Arts Center in Hartford.

World renowned flutist Eugenia Zukerman will serve as our Mistress of Ceremonies for this year's fundraising gala, which will feature an elegant opening reception and seated dinner; magnificent music, dance, and theatre performances by Hartt students and faculty; a diverse selection of silent auction items; an exciting live auction; and a cabaret- style after-party.

On November 14, join The Hartt School in welcoming our new Dean, Dr. Aaron Flagg, as Hartt supporters come together to celebrate the dynamic community of performing artists that is The Hartt School!

For more information about or to learn about sponsorship opportunities for Hartt Celebrates: The Future of Performing Arts, please contact Hartt Public Relations at 860.768.4466.

The Hartt School is working hard to stay connected with you via a new website, a Facebook page and a YouTube channel. Visit www.hartford.edu/ hartt to learn more about what is happening at Hartt, purchase tickets to performances, and more! Become a fan of The Hartt School on Facebook and connect with other Hartt students, alumni, and supporters. To become a fan, Click Here. Check out Hartt's official YouTube channel at YouTube.com /HarttTube!

The Hartt School's new Dean, Dr. Aaron Flagg, officially kicked off The Hartt School's 2009-2010 academic year at his first Dean's Convocation on Thursday, September 3, in Lincoln Theater. At this year's annual gathering of Hartt students, faculty, and staff, Flagg welcomed returning students and the class of 2013 with encouraging words and inspiring performances by Hartt faculty.

Flagg challenged the hundreds of students gathered to "remember there are great traditions in the performing arts that need dedicated artists ready to carry them forward and innovate them with integrity, creativity, and excellence. While you go to classes, rehearsals, performances, parties, and enjoy being a college student, please remember you are in place where excellence, integrity, and boundary breaking creativity are treasured. Learn as much as you can, give as much as you can give to fellow colleagues, and relish the beauty and power that is the performing arts."

Faculty performances brought appreciative cheers from the audience. Robert Davis from the Theatre Division performed the Stage Manager speech from the top of Act III of the classic play Our Town; Rita Porfiris, viola, and Margreet Francis, piano, represented the Instrumental Studies Division, performing "Dance of the Miller" from "El Sombrero de Tres Picos" (The Three-Cornered Hat) and "Ritual Fire Dance" from "El Amor Brujo" (Love, the Magician) by Manuel DeFalla, arr. Bridges; and Katie Stevenison- Nollet from the Dance Division, along with recent graduates Kristen Himmelberger and Kaitlyn Torrello, danced an excerpt from "Ode to a Cowboy", choreographed by Katie Stevinson-Nollet and performed to the music of Johnny Cash.

Dean Flagg also announced that on Saturday October 10, 2009, Hartt and the University of Hartford will host a Block Party at the Mort and Irma Handel Performing Arts Center, which will provide residents from the neighboring Upper Albany community the opportunity to enjoy the work of local performing and visual artists, share in free food, freely explore the Handel Performing Arts Center, and better acquaint themselves with The Hartt School and the University of Hartford.

The Farmington Valley Chorale, Ellen G. Voth, Director, invites experienced singers in all voice parts to join us for their fall 2009 season. No auditions. Weekly rehearsals began on Sunday, September 13, at St. Alban's Church, 197 Bushy Hill Road, Simsbury, Connecticut. The group will be accepting singers for the next few weeks. For more information, call 860- 651-3837.

Charles Turner, Associate Professor of Music History, recently was interviewed on-camera by film music historian Jon Burlingame for a television documentary now in preparation on American composer Jerome Moross. The interview will be included in an episode of American Masters, the ongoing PBS television series devoted to significant American artists and innovators. Best-known for his scores to such films as The Big Country and The Cardinal, Moross also was an accomplished composer of music for the stage and concert hall. Turner wrote the definitive, annotated catalogue raisonné of Moross's music, published in 2005, and currently is working on a biography of the composer.

Hartt horn faculty member Daniel Grabois had a busy summer self-producing his latest project. Grabois spent three months writing a new etude book, designing the book's cover, and developing a new website. The book, entitled 20 Different Etudes for the Horn's Middle Register, was written in the pit of a production of South Pacific during Grabois's downtime as a part of the show's orchestra.

Among the many faculty members who were on the road this summer were two of Hartt's renowned jazz musicians - bassist Nat Reeves and trombonist Steve Davis. Reeves' summer performances included gigs with the Pharoah Sanders Quartet in San Francisco, Japan and the United Kingdom; the Hartford Jazz Festival; and the Big Chill Music Festival. Davis had a busy schedule teaching and performing throughout the country, including Kentucky, California, Michigan, and New York City.

In July, Carrie Koffman premiered two new works at World Saxophone Congress XV in Bangkok, Thailand: "Carillon Sky" by Augusta Read Thomas for solo alto saxophone and chamber ensemble, with members of the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, and "The Prayer" for solo alto saxophone by Lera Auerbach.

The Avery Ensemble, featuring Hartt faculty member Steve Larson, has announced its 2009-2010 concert series. Ice & Fire will trace the persistent rivalry between reason and passion through nearly three hundred years of musical history. In addition to Steve Larson, Hartt's Associate in Viola and Chair for Chamber Music, the Ensemble includes Annie Trepanier, violin; Hans Twitchell, cello; and Adriana Jarvis, piano and harpsichord.

Marin Ireland '00, a member of The Hartt School's first Actor Training graduating class, is part of the cast of Patrick Marber's three-character After Miss Julie, a new take on August Strindberg's famous play about class and relationships. The fall production also stars Sienna Miller as Miss Julie and Jonny Lee Miller as John. Ireland will play Christine in the American premiere of the play. Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, artistic director), in association with Sonia Friedman Productions and Ostar Productions, presents the limited engagement of the drama, directed by Mark Brokaw, September 18 through December 6 at the American Airlines Theatre in New York City. Opening night is scheduled for October 22. Ireland was nominated for a Tony Award earlier this year for her Broadway debut performance in the play reasons to be pretty.

Hartt School alumnus Steve French was nominated for a New York Innovative Theatre Award (IT Awards) for Outstanding Actor in a Lead Role for his work in Still the River Runs, which was produced by Zootopia Theatre Company. The New York Innovative Theatre Awards are given annually to honor individuals and organizations who have achieved artistic excellence in Off-Off- Broadway theatre.

Kyle Torrence '10, a double major in Music History and Voice Performance, will perform the role of Hadji in The Connecticut Concert Opera's performance of Lakmé. Joining Torrence is former Hartt student Sarah Callinan, who will play the title role of Lakmé.The Artistic Director of the Opera is Hartt School Vocal Studies Division faculty member Doris Lang Kosloff. The show takes place on Saturday, October, 17, at 8:00 PM at the Hoffman Auditorium, Saint Joseph College.

The Hartt School is proud to announce the most recent projects of several Music Theatre alumni, who have landed gigs on Broadway and in productions around the country. Carey Brown '03 will make her Broadway debut in the upcoming revival of Ragtime, the musical. Douglas Lyons '09 will be on the Dreamgirls National Tour, which will launch at the Apollo Theater on November 7. For updates on where and in what shows many more of Hartt's Music Theatre alumni are performing click here.

Hartt alumnus Sean Burton '00 guest conducts the Springfield Symphony Orchestra in the opening "Pops Programming" segment on Saturday, October 17, at 8:00 PM at Springfield Symphony Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Symphony opens for acclaimed vocalist and fellow Hartt Alumna, Dionne Warwick '63. Burton has chosen a variety of arrangements, ranging from selections from Fame to Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson songs.

Seats are available at all pricing levels, ranging from $13.25 to $48.50. This is a 25% discount over regular seat prices. This is a Limited time offer so be sure to call the SSO Box Office from October 5th through 9th and mention the discount code HARTT. This discount can only be redeemed by contacting the SSO Box Office by phone at 413-733-2291.

This fall Hartt alumna Dr. Alexandra Zacharella '99 has taken a on a new role at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith as the school's Director of Bands. A native a New Jersey, Dr. Zacharella currently is an assistant professor of low brass and also teaches in the Academy of the Arts at UA Fort Smith.

The Hartford Chapter of the American Liszt Society presents "An Evening of Etudes" on October 2, at 7:30 PM at the First Congregational Church of West Springfield (Massachusetts). The performance will include both a former and a current student of Hartt faculty member Luiz de Moura Castro: Corbin Beisner '09 and Laura Garritson (Parker), respectively. Beisner, who received his bachelors degree this year, will perform the 12 Liszt Transcendental Etudes. Garritson, who received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from The Hartt School and is a current doctoral candidate, will perform Chopin's Etudes Op. 10. She has won various competitions, including the van Rooy Competition for Musical Excellence in 2000, and has performed all over the world. Former Hartt faculty member Rita Nuller will perform Chopin's Etudes Op. 25.

Tap Dance your way to Fitness!

Join the friendly staff at the Hartt Community Division for tap dancing classes every Wednesday from 12:30- 1:30 PM in room 163 of the Fuller Music Center at The Hartt School on the University of Hartford campus. Bring tap shoes or just dance with bare feet if you prefer. Classes are open only to University of Hartford faculty and staff at $5 per class (to help defray the cost of our spirited instructor). Come join us for a one-hour workout of tap-dancing fun! The first class is free!

Free Workshops for Teens & Adults - Early Music & Alexander Technique Workshops!

Designed as an introduction to early music and dance, the Hartt Community Division will offer a series of free workshops throughout the year. Workshops will take the form of a music reading session or 'sing/play along' and will be offered periodically on Saturday afternoons throughout the year. For more information click here.