News From the Hartt Dean's Office
March 21, 2007

Miami String Quartet Student Competition, March 29

On Thursday, March 29, at 7:30 p.m. in Lincoln Theater, Hartt will present the annual Miami String Quartet Student Competition Concert, featuring six talented Hartt students performing with Hartt’s resident quartet. The exceptional students who won the competition are oboist Daren Weissfisch, bassoonist Lauren Stanisce, violinist Lillian Wells, and flutists Rachael Maclary, Josefina Mutascu and Alissa Willis. The program includes works by Mozart, Devienne, Haydn and Ginastera. 

These six Hartt students will have the incomparable experience of performing for an audience side-by-side with a professional quartet.  The Student Competition Concert is a unique opportunity for Hartt’s student musicians – one that is unparalleled among similar music conservatory programs.  The winners were selected by the Miami String Quartet members from more than twenty applicants to the competition via two audition rounds.  At the preliminary audition, the student musicians performed a movement of a standard concerto or other substantial solo composition.  Ten students from this first round then moved on to a final audition, at which they performed a complete work with the members of the Quartet. 

The six exemplary students come from around the globe and across the U.S.  Daren Weissfisch is a senior undergraduate oboist from Ridgewood, New Jersey, and studies with Humbert Lucarelli. Lauren Stanisce, from Miramar, Florida, is a junior undergraduate bassoonist and studies with Marc Goldberg. Lillie Wells is a second year master’s student from Eugene, Oregon, and studies violin with Katie Lansdale. Josefina Mutascu is a first year master’s flute student from Snohomish, Washington.  Alisa Willis, from Willington, New Zealand, is a first year master’s flute student.  Rachael Maclary is an undergraduate sophomore flutist from Newark, Delaware.  Mutascu, Willis, and Maclary all study with flute professor John Wion.

Prior to the concert, there will be a dinner and an interview with a member of the Miami String Quartet. The dinner will be held at 6:00 p.m. in the 1877 Club in University of Hartford’s Harry Jack Grey Center. Dinner tickets are $39.  Following the concert, there will be a free reception in honor of the student performers. 

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Hartt Choral Recital, April 1

The Hartt School will present a concert of 20th century choral works featuring the Hartt choruses on Sunday, April 1, at 4 p.m. in Millard Auditorium .  The evening’s program will be conducted by faculty members Edward Bolkovac and Stuart Younse and student conductor Ethan Nash.

Admission is $20 with discounts available for senior citizens, students and groups. 

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Hartt Symphony Orchestra, April 6

The Hartt School will present a concert by the Hartt Symphony Orchestra on Friday, April 6, at 7:30 p.m. in Millard Auditorium on the University of Hartford campus in West Hartford.  The program for the evening includes Ottorino Respighi’s Fountains of Rome, lead by the Symphony’s assistant conductor, Scott Bean.  Guest pianist Sooran Lee will join the Symphony for Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2, and the evening will conclude with Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 3, both under the baton of Symphony conductor Christopher Zimmerman.  Admission is $20 for the general public with discounts available for senior citizens, students and groups. 

Scott Bean was one of the two winners of the fourth annual International Conductors Workshop held at Mercer University in Macon, Ga. in January.  He earned a bachelor of music education degree from The Hartt School in 2005, and is currently pursuing his master’s in orchestral conducting at Hartt. In addition to his position as assistant conductor of the Hartt Symphony Orchestra, Bean directs the Hartt Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble and is guest conductor of the Contemporary Players Ensemble.

At Bean's professional debut with the Buffalo Philharmonic during the summer of 2006, he and the orchestra were praised by The Buffalo News for a mercurial and entertaining performance. Bean has also appeared with the Greater Buffalo Youth Orchestra and was the founder and former music director of the Frontier Summer Wind Ensemble.

A champion of contemporary and innovative works for all ensembles, Bean has given several world premieres of works for orchestra and wind ensemble during the past year. A recent premier featured the partnership of fellow Hartt composer, Phil Salathé. With the Holberg Chamber Orchestra, founded by Bean, they presented Divisions, a soprano saxophone concerto with chamber orchestra.

Korean-born pianist Sooran Lee has enjoyed her musical career with numerous appearances in recital and chamber music. In 2005, Ms. Lee made her New York Debut Recital at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall presented by Artists International. As a winner of the Miami String Quartet Competition at The Hartt School, she had honor of performing with the Miami String Quartet.

Ms. Lee has been a prizewinner in several competitions including Puigcerda Music Festival Competition in Spain, the Korean-German Brahms Competition, the National Seoul Young Chamber Music Competition in Korea, and Paranov Concerto Competition at The Hartt School. She has also performed at prestigious music festivals such as the Vienna Music Festival in Austria, the Puigcerda Music Festival in Spain, and Manchester Music Festival in Vermont and Chamber Music Institute in Nebraska.

Sooran Lee began her musical studies at the age of four under her mother’s tutelage. After graduating Yewon School and Seoul Arts High School, Ms. Lee received her bachelor's degree at the Ewha Woman’s University. Ms. Lee is continuing her studies at The Hartt School where she studied with Oxana Yablonskaya and is currently a student of Paul Rutman.

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FOR YOUR INFORMATION

Hartt Celebrates 2007
Join us on Saturday, April 14 in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Hartford Hotel for Hartt Celebrates 2007.  This elegant “cocktail attire” affair is our annual fundraising gala.  Your support will help our theatres perform as well as our students!  The final piece of funding for our new Performing Arts Center, a $4 million bond that has been recommended by Gov. M. Jodi Rell and approved by the state Bond Commission in January ’07, will allow the first phase of construction to begin this spring.  With the opening of the Performing Arts Center, many theatre productions and dance classes currently held in Fuller Music Center will be relocated to the new space.  Facilities in Fuller will be upgraded to state-of-the-art performance standards as these spaces are reclaimed for use by our music divisions.  Proceeds from Hartt Celebrates 2007 have been earmarked for the planned improvements of these performance facilities, which include enhanced acoustics and lighting; comfortable, permanent seating; and expanded stage and backstage areas.

Hartt Celebrates is a great evening.  It includes an elegant dinner, a silent auction, a live auction hosted by Colin McEnroe of WTIC News Talk 1080, and performances by Hartt’s talented students.  Tickets are $200 per person with a table of 10 costing $1,750.  If you have corporate contacts, sponsorship of the event is $3,000 for a table of 10.  People who come to this event are invariably impressed with the quality of performance at our school.

For more information on this event, contact Micah Woods in the Hartt Public Relations office at (860) 478-4862 or HarttPR@hartford.edu.

Seniors from Hartt’s Theatre Division performed in Hartford Stage’s production of A Christmas Carol as part of the Partnership in Training program.
The Observer, Winter 2007

Hartt student Douglas Lyons is on the road with a national touring company of the Tony Award– and Pulitzer Prize–winning musical Rent.
The Observer, Winter 2007

Anne Griffin retired as coordinator from The Hartt School in January after more than 25 years of service. Her earlier service as a coordinator/registrar for Hartt gave her the well-rounded knowledge of the school's policies which students, faculty, chairs and supervisors relied on for answers. Anne gave special attention to all students she assisted, particularly the international students who were made to feel welcome in their new environment. Her quick Irish wit and smile were one of her many charms and it captured many long term friendships over the years.  Hartt wishes Anne all the best!

Ed Krech, owner of Integrity 'n Music, presented another in his series of free concerts showcasing young Hartford-area jazz talent in his Wethersfield record shop. Tapped from the student body at Hartt's Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz, the Integrity All-Stars feature: Matt Chasen, tenor saxophone and combo leader; Joseph Bruneau, trumpet; Yunie Mojica, alto saxophone; Matt Kos, piano; Rob Stragnell, bass; Jake Wardwell, drums.
Hartford Courant, March 8

The Hartt Wind Ensemble, under the baton of Hartt faculty member Glen Adsit, will premiere two new works by Hartt faculty members at a concert on Saturday, March 31, during the College Band Directors National Association Conference at the University of Michigan.  The concert will feature premieres of “Lullaby for Noah” by Joseph Turrin and “Trombone Concerto” by Stephen Gryc.  Turrin and Gryc are both on the faculty of Hartt’s Composition Department.  Also on the evening’s program is “Recoil” by Joseph Schwantner, who was composer-in-residence at Hartt last year, and “Tales From the Center of the Earth” by Nebjosa Zibkovic.

An ensemble from The Hartt School's Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz spent St. Patrick’s Day celebrating the 800th birthday of Hartford’s sister city—New Ross in County Wexford, Ireland.
UNotes Daily, March 20

The Hartt School Advisory Board Parents' Committee is hosting a Parents' Night Reception on Friday, April 6, at the University's 1877 Club. Come join Malcolm Morrison, Dean of The Hartt School, for an informal "Meet and Greet" session prior to a 7:30 p.m. performance by the Hartt Symphony Orchestra. Light refreshments will be served. Tickets to the Hartt Symphony are free, and will be available at the reception. RSVP to 860.768.4862 or by email.

ACADEMIC ACCOLADES

Dennis Price, director of Hartt’s Dance Division, was quoted in an article in the February 2007 issue of Dance Teacher.  Titled “A Few Good Men”, the article discusses how to encourage young men to become involved in dance.  Price notes that instilling proper discipline is a cornerstone of Hartt’s program.  “Teach them the ethics of the profession-keeping commitments, showing up at rehearsals on time---everything and anything a female would do.  You don’t want them to graduate, then be difficult to deal with in the profession.”  The article also included several photos of Hartt dancers.

Henry Fonte, Professor of Theatre, is directing the first developmental production of Mariel, a new musical, by John Forster and David Gonzalez.  Commissioned by Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park (Tony Award 2004), Mariel tells the story of star-crossed lovers who meet when fate throws them together during the 1980 boat-lift/exodus from Mariel, Cuba to Miami, where they make an uneasy beginning among racial riots and longstanding prejudices.  The creative team, which has been working in New York and Cincinnati since October, will rehearse in Cincinnati during the last three weeks in March, and the musical will be launched in a one-act touring version on April 2.  Hartt Theatre Division alumna Blayne Levin is in the cast.

The Steve Davis Quintet will be appearing at Smoke Jazz Club in NYC on Thursday, March 29, at 8:00, 10:00, and 11:30 pm.  Trombonist Davis is a faculty member in Hartt’s Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz.

The Avery Ensemble with violinist Annie Trépanier, violist Steve Larson, cellist Hans Twitchell and pianist Adriana Jarvis will perform on Sunday, April 1 at 3 p.m. for the Tuesday Musical Club Concert Series of the Trinity United Methodist Church in Springfield, Mass.  The program will include Mozart’s Piano Quartet in E-flat, Piano Quartets by Mahler and Schnittke, Fantasias for Strings by Purcell, and Turina’s uniquely Spanish-flavored Piano Quartet.  Trépanier is a Hartt alumna (AD Violin Performance '00, GPD Violin Performance '03); Larson is a Hartt faculty member.  For tickets, please call 413.774.2657.

The Adaskin String Trio with Hartt String Department faculty members Steve Larson and Emlyn Ngai and alumnus Mark Fraser (GPD 1998) along with guest oboist Thomas Gallant will play for The Evergreen Concert Series — one of Baltimore's longest-running chamber music programs- at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 23. The musicians will perform Druschetzky's Quartet in G Minor for oboe and strings, Beethoven's String Trio in D Major, Taneyev's String Trio in B Minor and Mozart's Quartet for oboe and strings in F Major.  
John Hopkins University Gazette, March 19

Kenneth Shelley, Hartt Vocal faculty member and Louise Fauteux, Hartt Community Division vocal faculty member performed for the fifth anniversary season of the West Hartford Symphony Orchestra this month.  Well-known operas such as La Traviata and La Boheme were featured on the program.
West Hartford News, March 9

ALUMNI NEWS

Franc D'Ambrosio (BMus ’81) doesn’t know the meaning of the word “rest.”  When he has time off from performing, he goes to Italy – not to unwind, but to lecture at a music academy in Lucca.
San Francisco Chronicle, March 10

Alumnus Sergey Antonov recently won first prize in the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) Competition in Detroit.  Antonov was a student of Terry King.

Sweet Sue Terry (BMus Jazz ‘82) is the featured artist on the current Sax Tips Podcast, hosted by the wonderful saxman Evan Tate, an American currently living in Germany.
Sax Tips Podcast, March 9

Sue Terry will also present a slide lecture and listening session titled "Jazz Women of Note" on Wednesday, March 21, at the Barron Arts Center in Woodbridge, New Jersey.  She will pay tribute to some of the legendary Jazzwomen with whom she has worked, such as Melba Liston and producer Helen Keane.  She will also discuss women musicians who have been major influences on her music, including Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday.  The talk will feature biographical information on the artists, as well as Terry's personal reminiscences.  It will be accompanied by slide photos, some from Terry's own collection, as well as recorded musical interludes that present the achievements of these extraordinary women.  Some of these recordings will feature unreleased material from Terry's private archives.  Directions are on the BAC web site.

Philip Peterson (BMus Opera ’87) is one of two young performers now touring with Cats who was interviewed by Broadway World.  He says, “Much of my training has helped me through the years. The transition came rather easy to me.”
Broadway World.com, March 15

Read the Community Division's Newsletter

New Community Division Director Appointed

The Hartt School is pleased to announce the appointment of Mark George as the new Director of its Community Division.  Mark comes from the Cleveland Institute of Music where he has been the Director of Distance Learning.  He will start at Hartt on July 2.  Joining Mark in Connecticut are his wife Michele and their 10 year old daughter.  The Hartt Community Division Advisory Board will hold an event to welcome Mark and his family in the early fall.

Young Artists Competition, March 25

Six finalists were chosen from among more than 20 participants to advance to the final round of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s annual Young Artists Competition, which will be held on Sunday, March 25, at 3 p.m. at Lincoln Theater.  An awards ceremony reception to meet the finalists will follow the concert.  The finalists include several Community Division students.  After performing at the Finals Concert, where HSO Music Director Edward Cumming will be among the adjudicators, the top three winners will split cash prizes totaling $3,000 with the grand prize winner earning the possibility of playing with the HSO in the future.  The finalists were chosen after participating in a preliminary audition in February at The Hartt School.

Kathryn Greenwood, a pianist and violist from Bloomfield, Conn., is finishing her last year of home-schooling. Miss Greenwood studies piano with Margreet Francis at Hartt.  Michelle Lee, pianist from Newington, Conn., is a junior at Miss Porter’s School in Farmington. Miss Lee studies with Sima Brodsky at Hartt.  Christopher Long, pianist from West Hartford, Conn., is a sophomore at Conard High School.  Mr. Long studies with Margreet Francis at Hartt.

Admission is free, but reservations are suggested. Please contact Emery Tapley, Director of Education and Community Programs at 860.246.8742, ext. 308, or email him to make a reservation.

Ballet Workshop, April 1

The Hartt School Community Division Dance Department will present their 3rd Annual Hartt Ballet Workshop, featuring a full schedule of Master Classes taught by special guest teachers, on Sunday, April 1.  The workshop runs from 11 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. at The Hartt Dance and Opera Center on Farmington Ave. in Hartford.  The day will include Master Classes in Ballet, Variations and Modern as well as classes in the Alexander Technique led by Eric and Sara Miller. Master Classes will be taught by special guest teachers Raymond Lukens, Kathleen Mitchell and Katie Stevinson.  The workshop fee is $85.  Classes are open to beginner through advanced dancers, ages 10 and up.  Register by March 20 and receive a free Hartt t-shirt.  A detailed list of classes and registration form are available at our web site.  To register, call (860) 525-9396, ext. 10, or by email.

Connecticut Youth Symphony performs in a Youth Orchestra Festival

The Connecticut Youth Symphony will travel to New Haven on Saturday, March 24, to perform and attend workshops as a part of the New Haven Symphony Youth Orchestra Festival.  Students from the region will gather at this festival which will conclude with a special concert by the New Haven Symphony to celebrate this new event.  Students from Hartt’s Connecticut Youth Symphony, as well as students from the Stamford Young Artists Philharmonic, will also participate in a documentary of the event highlighting a few students from each orchestra and their life as a musician and orchestral member.