Matthew Russo ('10)

Bachelor of Music, Trombone Performance and Music Education

Why I Chose Hartt

Choosing a college program consists of many questions: Where is it located? Who teaches there? How big is the school? What courses do I have to take? How much will it cost me? What kind of scholarship can they offer me? What are the facilities like? What kind of opportunities will I have? How large are the studios?

The list goes on and on, and that's not even including the bevy of questions you'll have after you visit the school. Is it the right fit for me? What's the student culture like? How do the performing ensembles sound? How many concerts are there per semester? Multiply all these questions by five or six schools and it's no wonder that applying for college can be such a challenge.

In all honesty, picking the right school wasn't the easiest choice for me. I had been offered a full scholarship to another program before I even heard about my acceptance to Hartt. After being accepted I had to weigh the advantages of both programs. It's wasn't an easy choice, but I'm absolutely positive I made the right one.

What I saw in Hartt was a program with a smaller student body that didn't sacrifice competitive edge, a smaller trombone studio compared to every other program I applied to, lots of performing opportunities, stellar faculty, and a music education program with opportunities to have some real hands on teaching experience before student teaching. These are just a few of the qualities that made Hartt the best fit for me.

Now, I see these qualities and more. I've taught lessons at the University of Hartford Magnet School. I've taken classes in Communicating with an Audience, and have used the Hartt Gigline to apply these skills in the Greater Hartford area. I've been allowed to perform in as few as one or two ensembles, or as many as eight ensembles each semester. Hartt has been a fantastic educational environment for me because I'm never limited. I'm allowed to flex my wings and grow as a musician.

Hartt continues to shape the musician I am, and each day I am proud to walk these halls and see the familiar faces and new faces to come. I made the right choice.

More about Matt

A native of New Hartford, NY, trombonist Matthew F. Russo is a graduate fellow at the Yale School of Music. He holds a Bachelor’s of Music with concentrations in Trombone Performance and Music Education from The Hartt School where he was a member of the Performance 20/20 Honors Chamber Music Program.

A devoted chamber musician, Matthew is the co-founder of the Northeast New Music Collective, initially a student-run contempyorary ensemble at The Hartt School, the ensemble now creates programs for new classical music to reach new audiences. His passion for new chamber music has allowed him to premiere more than a dozen new chamber works. In the fall of 2008, Matthew founded the West End Brass Quintet, which, in addition to winning the 2009 Paranov Concerto Competition, has gone on to perform as guest artists in several festivals through the United States, including the 2010 Chicago Brass Festival. Upon his arrival at Yale, he became a member of the Excalibur Brass Quintet. Accolades include winners of the 2011 Yale Chamber Music Competition, and an invitation to The Norfolk Chamber Music Festival in the summer of 2011.

A Connecticut certified teacher, Matthew maintains a dedication to music education currently through teaching artist programs in the greater New Haven area. As a member teacher of the Yale Music in Schools Initiative, Matthew currently teaches all instruments to students at John C. Daniels School in New Haven, CT. He has presented education programs throughout Connecticut and New England. Additional educational appointments include two public school placements in Connecticut, and lead teaching at the University of Hartford Magnet School Band Project.

In the fall of 2009 Matthew was awarded the Laureate prize in the van Rooy Competition for Musical Excellence, one of the few brass players to receive that distinction. His principal teachers are Scott Hartman, and Ronald A. Borror.