News From the Hartt Dean's Office
April 23, 2008

Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, April 23-27

The Hartt School presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Macbeth in repertory from April 23 to 27 at Millard Auditorium on the University of Hartford campus in West Hartford.  A Midsummer Night’s Dream, presented Wednesday, April 23 and Friday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 26 at 2 p.m., is a romantic comedy that portrays the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of amateur actors, their interactions with the Duke and Duchess of Athens, and with fairies who inhabit a moonlit forest.  Macbeth, presented Thursday, April 24 and Saturday, April 26 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 27 at 3 p.m., is a gripping tale about love and ambition, betrayal, and murder; a parable for our times.  Admission for each performance is $20, with discounts available for seniors, students and groups.  For tickets, contact the University of Hartford box office at 860.768.4228 or 800.274.8587, or visit www.hartford.edu/hartt to order tickets on line.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is directed by Malcolm Morrison, Dean of The Hartt School.  Macbeth is directed by Professor of Theatre Henry Fonte, and features Matthew Faucher of New Hartford, CT, as Macbeth (pictured in rehearsal, right), and Colin Gold of Lanesboro, MA, as Banquo (also pictured).

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Miami String Quartet, May 1

Guest Appearances by Saxophonist Carrie Koffman and Violinist Erin Keefe

The Hartt School presents a concert by its quartet-in-residence, the Miami String Quartet, on Thursday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m. in Millard Auditorium on the University of Hartford campus in West Hartford.  Admission is $30-36 for the general public with discounts available for senior citizens, students and groups.  Contact the University of Hartford Box Office at (860) 768-4228 for tickets or purchase tickets online at www.hartford.edu/hartt.

Prior to the concert, there will be a dinner and interview with a member of the Miami String Quartet. The dinner will take place in the 1877 Club in the University of Hartford’s Harry Jack Grey Center at 6 p.m.  Dinner tickets are $39.  The University of Hartford campus is located at 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT.

Quartet members violinist Cathy Meng Robinson, violist Yu Jin, and cellist Keith Robinson will continue their fifth anniversary season as quartet-in-residence at The Hartt School.  Due to reoccurring hand injuries, violinist Ivan Chan will be unable to finish the residency this season.  The Quartet has invited violinist Erin Keefe to join them for a second performance this season.  The performance will include a composition by Stephen Gryc, Hartt professor of composition and theory, entitled Quintet Fantasy Variations on a Theme of Bela Bartok, featuring guest saxophonist Carrie Koffman, also a faculty member at Hartt.  Other works to be performed are Haydn’s String Quartet No. 5 in D major, Op.76 and Dvorak’s String Quartet in E-flat Major.  Audience members are invited to meet with the musicians at an informal reception following the concert.  Admission is $30-36 for the general public with discounts available for senior citizens, students and groups. 

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Hartt Dances, May 2-4

The Hartt School Dance Division presents Hartt Dances Friday, May 2, through Sunday, May 4, at Lincoln Theater on the University of Hartford’s West Hartford campus.  Performances are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.  Admission is $20, with discounts for seniors, students and groups.  Hartt Dances is a full evening of dance pieces that represents the culmination of an intensive year of artistic growth.  The program includes a broad showcase of styles and moods that highlights the varied gifts of its dancers and faculty.  All of the selections are either staged or created by the School’s faculty.  Please call the University Box Office at 860.768.4228 or 800.274.8587 or visit www.hartford.edu/hartt for more information.

Alla Nikitina, originally from Ukraine, travels far from home, paying tribute to the lyrical and passionate dance heritage of Spain.  Her Spanish Suite is a high spirited and stylized journey to a land famous for its rich and moving integration of dance and music.

Pas de Quatres is the original Romantic Ballet throw-down.  Hilda Morales, formerly of American Ballet Theatre, has staged this legendary classic.  The ballet is the Romantic era’s version of the “dream team.”  In the original, the most famous ballerinas of the world appeared in this technical and artistic showcase.  It is a timeless classic, with artistic demands that challenge dancers 150 years later.  The work has an ageless charm, with its not-so-subtle competitive energy.

Katie Stevinson has staged a contemporary audience favorite.  Guernsey Fields is a folksy, nostalgic romp, filled with sweeping movement, humor, and country joy and fun.  Stevinson created the work as a tribute to her ancestors, who were dairy farmers.

Ballet faculty member Adam Miller created a new work for the dance division for this spring season.  This world premiere, using music by Bortnyansky and Philip Glass, is yet untitled.  Miller has explained it as an exploration of the youthful struggle between inner passions and temptations that holds the promise of both sadness and lush joy.  It is sensual, athletic and lyrically mysterious.

The program will include an excerpt of the classic ballet Paquita.  Paguita evokes the golden age of classical Russian ballet.  The definitive version of this ballet was created by Marius Petipas for the Russian Imperial Ballet, with a lush score by Leon Minkus.  Hilda Morales has lovingly restaged this saucy, “demi-character” classic for Hartt dancers.  Paquita is a rousing classic crowd pleaser, with everything audiences love most in large-scale classical ballets.

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Hartt Symphony Orchestra, May 3

Mahler’s Massive Third Symphony

The Hartt School will present a concert by the Hartt Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, May 3, at 7:30 p.m. in Belding Theater at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts.  Admission is $20 for the general public with discounts available for senior citizens, students and groups.  Please call the Bushnell Center at 860.987.5900 for tickets and information.

The closing concert of the 2007-2008 season, under the baton of Orchestra director Christopher Zimmerman, will be a performance of Mahler’s Third Symphony with guest mezzo-soprano Janine Hawley and the Connecticut Children’s Choruses.  The Third Symphony will be the sole work performed this evening due to its length and an intermission will follow the first movement.  The Hartt Symphony Orchestra is comprised of more than 80 student musicians from Hartt’s undergraduate and graduate degree programs, providing Hartt’s orchestral instrumentalists with exceptional performance experiences, including more than eight concerts a year and performances with the school’s dance, music theatre, and opera departments. 

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Brahms’ Requiem, May 4

The Hartt School will present a concert by the vocal division on Sunday, May 4, at 6 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Joseph, 140 Farmington Avenue in Hartford.  The Hartt choruses will join with the New Haven Chorale and the New Haven Symphony for a gala performance of Ein deutsches Requiem by Johannes Brahms. The vaulting spaces of the Cathedral of St. Joseph will be filled with the glorious sounds of 225 voices and the full New Haven Symphony with soprano Stephanie Gregory and baritone Ricardo Herrera under the direction of Hartt faculty member Edward Bolkovac.  Attendees may donate $15 at the door.  Please call 860.249.8431 for $20 reserved seating.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

Dedication to the new Mort and Irma Handel Performing Arts Center will be held on September 12, 2008 at 11 a.m.  All are invited to attend.  Details to follow.

The Zeta Omega Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia invites the communities of the Greater Hartford area to attend a free master class and concert given by Scott Hartman, trombone professor at the Yale School of Music. Mr. Hartman, world-renowned musician and teacher, performs and records with such ensembles as Proteus7, the Millennium Brass, the Brass Band of Battle Creek, the Hollywood Brass and the trombone quartet, Four of a Kind.  Phi Mu Alpha strives to provide quality musical experiences to foster growth in young musicians. This event will provide a worthwhile experience to both aspiring trombonists and the public audience. This event will provide an opportunity for the Greater Hartford communities to watch their own aspiring trombonists learn at the hands of an esteemed musician.  This master class and concert will be given at Lincoln Theater on the University of Hartford campus, Friday, May 9, at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively. Please contact the Box Office at 860.768.4228 to purchase tickets for the 7:30 p.m. concert; $5 for students with ID and seniors, $10 general admission.

Edward Bolkovac, Professor and Director of the Choral Music Program, will conduct the Hartt Choruses and the New Haven Chorale with the New Haven Symphony on Thursday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m. at Woolsey Hall in New Haven.  The program includes Mozart’s Symphony No. 31 (“Paris”)and Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem.  For tickets and information, please call 203.562.5666 or 888.736.2663.   

Community Invited to Annual Arts Coffeehouse Extravaganza

Performance 20/20 at The Hartt School will hold its second annual 20/20 Arts Coffeehouse Extravaganza on Saturday, April 26, 2008, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Berkman Auditorium on the University of Hartford campus in West Hartford.  Free and open to the public, this community event will feature delicious coffee and decadent treats, as well as a warmly-lit art gallery of Harford Art School student work, all accompanied by instrumental music provided by Hartt’s Honors Chamber Music program, Performance 20/20.  Patrons are invited to visit the coffeehouse venue at any time and for as long or as short a time as they wish during the six hour coffeehouse.  All ages are welcome.  For more information, contact Margreet Francis, co-director of Performance 20/20, at 860.768.5341.

ACADEMIC ACCOLADES

On April 12, 2008, Ira Braus, Associate Professor of Music History, took his piano literature II class to the Frederick Collection of Historic Pianos in Ashburnham, MA, where his students performed their repertoire.  The Collection comprises thirty-five premier European and U.S. pianos built between 1790 and 1907.  

Professor Ira Braus and Dr. Eric Altschuler coauthored an article on proportional tempos in J.S. Bach's keyboard music that appeared in the April 2008 issue of Clavier Magazine. Dr. Altschuler is the author of Bachanalia: The Essential Listener’s Guide to Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier.

And on Nov. 25, 2007, the New York Times Magazine published Professor Ira Braus' letter to the editor on the use of classical music in international diplomacy.

Geoffrey Reynolds, Assistant Professor of Music Education, presented a recent research study in April entitled "Music Faculty Research Publication Productivity” in Milwaukee, WI at the 2008 MENC, The National Association for Music Education Conference. It was received very well by the music education research community.

STUDENT & ALUMNI NEWS

The Alturas Duo will be guests of the Wallingford Symphony Orchestra and conductor Philip Ventre for a performance of Concierto de San Juan Bautista, a double concerto for viola and guitar by the Puerto Rican composer Dan Román (MM, 1999; DMA, 2006), and Danzas Peregrinas, a triple concerto for charango, guitar and flute by the Chilean composer Horacio Salinas, with Sandy Hughes (BM, 2008) performing on flute. The performance will be held at Main Theater, Paul Mellon Arts Center in Wallingford, CT on April 26 at 8 p.m.  The Alturas Duo is comprised of charango/violist Carlos Boltes (GPD, 2004) and guitarist Scott Hill (MM, 2002; GPD, 2004).  Hill and Boltes are also faculty members in Hartt’s Community Division.    

Hartt School senior Ryan Speedo Green was a guest vocal soloist at a performance of Identity, which was part of the sixth annual Bloomfield Performing and Visual Arts Festival, held in early April at the Bushnell Center in Hartford. The annual festival was launched by Joseph Olzacki, Bloomfield’s director of performing and visual arts, and a University of Hartford alumus.

Maestro Joseph Eunkwan Choi (MM, 1998), who has been the Assistant Conductor of both the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra in Indiana and the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra in Kentucky since 2005, reports that Alicia Didonato (BM, 1998) won the position as second flute with the Oregon Symphony Orchestra.

Richard Williams (BM, 1984) announces news of the Westchester Symphonic Winds performing its 20th anniversary concert on May 10 at the Tarrytown (NY) Music Hall. Program includes works by Reed, Hazo, Clifton Williams, Shostakovich, Giovannini and more.  For more information, please visit the website http://www.westchestersymphonicwinds.org/.

Artists International presents The Distinguished Alumni-Winners Series with pianist Anastasia Seifetdinova on Sunday, April 27, 2008, at 5:30 p.m. in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.  Ms. Seifetdinova, recipient of a 2008 Distinguished Alumni-Winners Award, currently is pursuing a doctoral degree at The Hartt School with Oxana Yablonskaya.  Tickets will be on sale at Weill Recital Hall Box Office, 154 West 5th Street in New York City, one hour prior to performance. 

MPT Student Achievements

A team of senior Music Production & Technology majors achieved the second highest score and Runner-Up Prize Winner status in Shure’s 4th Fantastic Scholastic Recording Competition.  These talented students were:  Matthew Giordano, Mark Goodell, Scott Greenberg, Jon Hong, and Andrew Jaworski.  The ensemble for the recording:  Alex Godiksen (vocals), Mark Goodell (guitar), Kevin Grossman (percussion), Adam Podd (piano), and Bob Tanen (bass).  The recording included all original music written by Alex Godiksen.  As a result of the team’s fine efforts, their program will receive a KSM44/SL large diaphragm multi-pattern condenser microphone and a stereo pair of KSM141/SL small diaphragm condenser microphones, along with a $1,500 donation towards a scholarship benefiting the program.  Each member of the recording team also will receive a KSM27/SL large diaphragm studio microphone for his/her personal use.

Read the Community Division's Newsletter

Hartt Community Division faculty members Leslie Frye and Lorelei Change, Hartt Community Division Intensive Student Elyse Inguanti, Hartt Community Division Adult Student Kate Moreaway and Hartt Dance Division Student Nick Franco will perform in Hartford Dances at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, May 10 at 7:30 p.m.  Michael Uthoff returns to Hartford as Artistic Advisor.  Choreography includes works by Antony Tudor, José Limón, Michael Uthoff, Ted Hershey and Pilobolus.  For tickets and information, please visit the Bushnell Center’s website at www.thebushnell.org or call (860) 987-5900. 

HCD Alumna Lisa Rohinsky in Broadway cast of Gypsy

Lisa Rohinsky, who graduated from Penn State last May, landed a role in the revival of Gypsy with Patti LuPone.  She will perform on April 25 and 26, and on June 14 at the 8 p.m. showings at St. James Theatre, 246 W. 44th Street in NYC.  Lisa studied voice with Amy Champagne at Hartt’s Community Division.

HCD Student Michelle Lee takes first prize at the Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s 34th Annual Young Artists Competition

Michelle Lee, recipient of the Jean Sterling McRae Memorial Award, earned $1,500 and an opportunity to perform with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra during the 2008-2009 Season. After receiving an Honorable Mention in 2007, Miss Lee impressed the judges with her brilliant performance of Frederic Chopin’s Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante, Op. 22. Originally from Newington, Miss Lee is a senior at Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, and has been studying piano for the past 12 years with Sima R. Brodsky of The Hartt School Community Division.