The Hartt School is the comprehensive performing arts conservatory of the

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. The university attracts students from 48 states and 43 countries. The university and it ...

located in

West Hartford, Connecticut West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford. The population was 64,083 at the 2020 census. The town's popular downtown area is colloquially known as "West Hartford Center," or simply "The C ...

, United States, that offers degree programs in music, dance, and theatre. Founded in 1920 by Julius Hartt and Moshe Paranov, Hartt has been part of the University of Hartford since its charter merged the then Hartt College of Music, the Hartford Art School, and Hillyer College to create the university in 1957. The Hartt School offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in music, dance, and theatre, and associated disciplines. The Hartt Community Division offers a variety of opportunities in music and dance for students of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.

Organ Studies

Since its founding, Hartt had an organ program of study. In 1970, the school acquired a new Gress-Miles pipe organ; it was inaugurated with a performance of Bach's '' Wir glauben all' an einen Gott''. The organ program's director, John Holtz, subsequently launched the International Contemporary Organ Music Festival which ran from 1971 to 1984, and brought world-wide attraction to Hartt with new organ music commissions and performances from major composers and organists, including

Marilyn Mason Marilyn Mason (June 29, 1925 – April 4, 2019) was an American concert organist, recording artist, and professor. Mason joined the staff of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1947, became chair of the organ department in 1962, and was ...

, William Albright,

Iannis Xenakis Giannis Klearchou Xenakis (also spelled for professional purposes as Yannis or Iannis Xenakis; el, Γιάννης "Ιωάννης" Κλέαρχου Ξενάκης, ; 29 May 1922 – 4 February 2001) was a Romanian-born Greek-French avant-garde ...

, and

William Bolcom William Elden Bolcom (born May 26, 1938) is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, a Grammy Award, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. He ...

. In 1982, the festival expanded to include harpsichord music. In 2015, facing total declinement of enrollment, the school closed down its organ studies program and sold the Gress-Miles organ to United Methodist Church in

Babylon, New York The Town of Babylon is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Its population was 218,223 as of the 2020 census. Parts of Jones Beach Island, Captree Island and Fire Island are in the southernmost part of the town. It bord ...

. As of 2022, faculty member Scott Lamlein re-started a Foundations of Organ Performance course available to Hartt piano students, taught on a 1986 Wolff studio pipe organ. MortHandelHall

Notable faculty

The Hartt School's faculty perform, teach, and present all over the country and around the world. Notable faculty members have included: * Glen Adsit, conductor & founder of the National Wind Ensemble Consortium Group * Robert Black, Bang on a Can All-Stars *

Robert Carl Robert Carl (born July 12, 1954 in Bethesda, Maryland) is an American composer who currently resides in Hartford, Connecticut, where he is chair of the composition program at the Hartt School, University of Hartford. Music Carl studied with Jona ...

, composer * John Feierabend, music education researcher and author *

Kevin Cobb Kevin Cobb is an American trumpet player who joined the American Brass Quintet in fall 1998. He also became a faculty member of The Juilliard School and the Aspen Music Festival. Currently, he teaches at the Yale School of Music and at SUNY Sto ...

American Brass Quintet When the American Brass Quintet gave its first public performance on December 11, 1960, brass chamber music was still relatively young to concert audiences. The New York Brass Quintet is regarded as the first brass quintet in the United States, ha ...

Steve Davis Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a Sports commentator, commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he rea ...

, jazz trombonist *

Javon Jackson Javon Anthony Jackson (born June 16, 1965) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist, bandleader, and educator. He first became known as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers from 1987 until Blakey's death in 1990. and went on to release 22 recor ...

, jazz saxophonist *

Nat Reeves Nat Reeves (born 1955 in Lynchburg, Virginia) is an American jazz bassist. He resides in Hartford, Connecticut, and teaches at The Hartt School of the University of Hartford. He also performs internationally with a number of jazz artists. As a ba ...

, jazz double bassist * Julia Smith, pianist and composer *

Leonid Sigal Leonid Sigal is a Russian violinist and conductor. A graduate from the Moscow Conservatory, Sigal is active in the United States, where he settled as he joined in 1995 the New World Symphony Orchestra. He was appointed the orchestra's Concertmas ...

, violinist *

Oxana Yablonskaya Oxana Yablonskaya (russian: Оксана Михайловна Яблонская; born December 6, 1938, Moscow) is a Russian pianist who has had an active international performance career since the early 1960s. She began her career in the USSR ...

, pianist *

Jackie McLean John Lenwood "Jackie" McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, and is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their deat ...

, (former) jazz saxophonist and founder of the Jackie McLean Jazz program * Rene McLean, jazz saxophonist and flutist *

Gwyneth van Anden Walker Gwyneth Van Anden Walker (born 22 March 1947) is an American music educator and composer. Biography Walker was born in New York to a Quaker family and grew up in New Canaan, Connecticut. She began her first efforts at composition at an early age ...

, composer

Notable alumni

John Barcellona John Barcellona is the Director of Woodwind Studies and Professor of Flute at CSULB and flutist with the internationally acclaimed Westwood Wind Quintet (recordings on Columbia, Crystal, and Western International Music). Career He is currently ...

, flutist * Peter Boyer, composer *

David Dodge Boyden David Dodge Boyden (Westport, Connecticut, December 10, 1910Berkeley, California – September 18, 1986) was an American musicologist and violinist specializing in organology and performance practice. Education Boyden received a BA (1932) and MA ...

, musicologist *

Robert Brubaker Robert Brubaker (October 9, 1916 – April 15, 2010) was an American character actor best known for his roles in television and movie westerns, including '' Gunsmoke'' and ''40 Guns to Apache Pass''. Early years Brubaker was born in Robinson ...

, tenor *

Larry Chesky Larry Chesky, born Lawrence J. Ciszewski, (November 17, 1933 – January 25, 2011, Holyoke, MA) was an American accordion player, Polka band leader, inductee in the International Polka Hall of Fame, and manager of the Rex Records label. Early ...

, composer and Polka accordionist *

Javier Colon Javier Colon (stylized as Colón; born April 29, 1978) is an American acoustic singer-songwriter. He has referred to his style of music as being "acoustic soul." He was a member of EmcQ and The Derek Trucks Band, and worked with many musicians ...

, musician, winner of ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'' * David Cullen, guitarist * Dan-O (Dan O'Connor), singer and composer *

Jimmy Greene James Sidney Greene, Jr. (born February 24, 1975) is an American jazz saxophonist, gospel musician, recording artist, record producer, and music professor. He started his music career in 1997, and has since released eight studio albums. His eigh ...

, jazz alto saxophonist * Ryan Speedo Green, bass-baritone opera singer * Laurel Hurley, soprano *

Marin Ireland Marin Yvonne Ireland is an American actress. Known for her work in theatre and independent films, ''The New York Times'' deemed Ireland "one of the great drama queens of the New York stage". Her accolades include a Theatre World Award and nomina ...

, film, stage and television actress *

Barbara Kolb Barbara Kolb (born February 10, 1939) is an American composer. Her music uses sound masses and often creates vertical structures through simultaneous rhythmic or melodic units ( motifs or figures). Kolb's musical style can be identified by her use ...

, composer *

Mia Love Mia, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA., a German rock/pop band formed in 1997 * Mia (singer) (born 1983 ...

, U.S. Representative from Utah *

Rob Moose Rob Moose (born 1982) is an American multi-instrumentalist, arranger, producer, conductor, and orchestrator. He primarily plays the violin, viola, and guitar. Early life and education Moose was born in 1982. He was raised in Windsor, Connect ...

, musician *

Houston Person Houston Person (born November 10, 1934) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. He received the ...

, jazz saxophonist * Carmino Ravosa, composer * Francesca Roberto, soprano *

Teresa Stich-Randall Teresa Stich-Randall ( Stich; 24 December 1927 17 July 2007) was a European-based American soprano opera singer.

, actor *

, composer *

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

, pop singer and multiple

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

winner * Doreen Ketchens, trad jazz clarinetist and New Orleans music ambassador *

Tony MacAlpine Tony MacAlpine (born August 29, 1960) is an American musician and composer. In a career spanning four decades, he has released twelve studio albums. MacAlpine is best known as an instrumental rock and heavy metal solo guitarist, although he has ...

, Grammy-nominated guitarist and pianist *

Keir O'Donnell Keir O'Donnell is an Australian–American actor, best known for his roles in the films ''Wedding Crashers'', ''The Break-Up'', '' Paul Blart: Mall Cop'' and ''American Sniper'' as well as numerous television appearances. Early life O'Donnell ...

, actor *

Charles Nelson Reilly Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, actor, teacher * Lynne Strow Piccolo, soprano * Andrew Ardizzoia, composer * Marcus Barone(Mark Barone) Film Music Executive, Supervisor, Composer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartt School, The Schools in Hartford County, Connecticut Music schools in Connecticut Educational institutions established in 1920 1920 establishments in Connecticut