The mission of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra is to enrich lives and community through great music. Celebrating it’s 80th Anniversary during the 2023-2024 season, the HSO is Connecticut’s premier musical organization and widely recognized as one of America’s leading regional orchestras.
HSO captivates in inspires audiences by presenting annual concert series and events, including the Masterworks Series, POPS! Series, Sunday Serenades, and the Talcott Mountain Music Festival at the Simsbury Meadows Performing Arts Center. The HSO aims to deliver uniquely powerful and emotional experiences that lift and transform the spirit and to give back and help create vibrant communities in the Greater Hartford area.
The Hartford Symphony Orchestra named Carolyn Kuan as it tenth music director in January 2011; she is the first woman and youngest person to hold this title. Since beginning her tenure in 2011, she has led the HSO to new artistic heights with community minded concerts and innovative programming.
The Hartford Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1934 and formally established as the Symphony Society of Greater Hartford in 1936. Angelo Coniglione, Jacques Gordon, Leon Barzin, Moshe Paranov and George Heck were the Orchestra’s first music directors. With the appointment of Fritz Mahler in 1953, the HSO began its Young People’s Concerts and made several highly acclaimed recordings for Vanguard. In 1964, Arthur Winograd became music director and the Orchestra grew in artistic stature, performing at Carnegie Hall and other New York locations to highly favorable reviews. Under the leadership of Michael Lankester from 1985-2000, the HSO received national recognition for its programming innovations, including the popular Classical Conversations and Family Matinees, as well as a series of landmark theatrical productions. From 2001-2011, Edward Cumming led the HSO to new levels of artistic excellence and innovative programming.
Each season, the HSO plays to audiences numbering approximately 75,000 statewide, The Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s extensive array of Education and Community Activities serves more than 15,000 individuals in Hartford and the surrounding communities annually.
Each month we are featuring one of the musicians in the Hartford Symphony Orchestra to give you a chance to get to know each one a little better.
Learn more about our featured musician here: https://hartfordsymphony.org/
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Carolyn Kuan
Endowed by the Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving
ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR
Adam Kerry Boyles
FIRST VIOLIN
Leonid Sigal, concertmaster
Sponsored by David
and Linda Roth
Lisa Rautenberg,
associate concertmaster
Sponsored by Barbara
and Jerry Hess
Gary Capozziello,
assistant concertmaster
Jamie Andrusyak
Linda Beers
Michael Eby
Perry Elliot
Karin Fagerburg
Lu Friedman
Jihye Joelle Maree
Romina Kostare
Millie Piekos
Deborah Tyler
Sponsored by Bob &
Frankie Goldfarb
Katalin Viragh
SECOND VIOLIN
Michael Duffett,
principal
Jaroslaw Lis,
assistant principal
Sponsored by Kristen Phillips
& Matthew Schreck
Candance M. Lammers
Martha Kayser
Simon Bilyk
Diane Frederickson
Krzysztof Gadawski
Yuri Kharenko-Golduber
Virginia Kramer
Yukiko Kuhara
Selah Kwak
Nathan Lowman
Alicia Rattin
VIOLA
Michael Wheeler, principal
Aekyung Kim,*
assistant principal
Sponsored by Wes &
Chloe Horton
Nick Borghoff
acting assistant principal
Patricia Daly Vance
Devon Duarte
Gretchen Frazier
Martha Knieriem
Arthur Masi
Sponsored by Bob Bausmith and Jill Peters-Gee
The Claire & Millard Pryor Orchestra Committee Co-Chair
CELLO
Amy Ward Butler, principal
Jia Cao, assistant principal
Esther Benjamin
Cara Cheung
Jennifer Combs
Tom Hudson
Yoonhee Ko
Adam Willson
Peter Zay
BASS
Edward R. Rozie, Jr., principal
Sponsored by Brook & Charlotte Jason
Robert Groff, assistant principal
Tony Connaway
Samantha Donato
Joseph Messina
Julianne Russell*
Sponsored by Beth &
Rick Costello
Alex Svensen
Mark Zechel
FLUTE
Dominique Kim, principal
Barbara A. Hopkins,
assistant principal
PICCOLO
Jeanne Wilson
Sponsored by Gary &
Diane Whitney
OBOE
Erik Andrusyak, principal
Stephen Wade, assistant principal
The Claire & Millard Pryor Orchestra Committee Co-Chair
Marilyn Krentzman
ENGLISH HORN
Marilyn Krentzman
CLARINET
Sangwon Lee, principal
Curt Blood, assistant principal
BASS CLARINET
Paul Wonjin Cho
Sponsored by Wes &
Chloe Horton
BASSOON
Yeh-Chi Wang, principal
Jensen Bocco, assistant principal
CONTRABASSOON
Rebecca Noreen
HORN
Barbara Hill, principal
John Michael Flavetta,
assistant principal 
Justin Ruleman
Nick Rubenstein
Joshua Michal
TRUMPET
John Charles Thomas,
acting principal trumpet
Dovas Lietuvninkas, third trumpet
TROMBONE
Brian L. Diehl, principal
Robert Hoveland,
assistant principal
TUBA
Jarrod Briley, principal
TIMPANI
Eugene Bozzi, principal
Sponsored by Carlotta &
Bob Garthwait, Jr.
PERCUSSION
Robert McEwan, principal
PIANO
Yujin Lee
Sponsored by Kristen Phillips
& Matthew Schreck
HARP
Susan Knapp Thomas,
principal
Sponsored by Beth &
Rick Costello
LIBRARIAN
Nathan Lowman
PERSONNEL MANAGER
Jaroslaw Lis
STAGE MANAGER
Jeremy Philbin, I.A.T.S.E.
*On leave for the 2024-2025 season
After the first two desks of violins, and the first desk of violas, cellos, and basses, the remaining string musicians participate in rotational seating and are listed in alphabetical order.
AFM Local 400
The musicians of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra are members of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada.
Stagehands Local 84
The Stagehands of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra are members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (I.A.T.S.E.).
Musician List subject to change. Please see our digital playbill for the most
up-to-date listing.
Stephen Collins, President & CEO
ARTISTIC OPERATIONS
Nathan Scalzone, Director of Artistic Operations
Emily Rafala, Production Manager
Jaroslaw Lis, Personnel Manager
Nathan Lowman, Librarian
Jeremy Philbin, Stage Manager
DEVELOPMENT
Eric R. Hutchinson, Director of Development
Rob Beasley, Corporate and Foundation
Relations Manager
Rich McCarty, Capital Campaign Officer
Deb Shulansky, Manager, Donor Engagement
Diana Sparks, Manager, Development Operations
EXECUTIVE
Philip Grover, Executive Assistant
FINANCE
Daniel Larkin, Staff Accountant
LEARNING AND SOCIAL IMPACT
Andrew Robbin, Director of Learning
and Social Impact
Jennifer Phipps, Manager of Learning
and Social Impact
MARKETING & PUBLIC RELATIONS
Ashley Fedigan, Director of Marketing and
Public Relations
Faith Quinn, Brand Marketing & Communication Coordinator
TICKET SERVICES
Charles Feierabend, Manager, Box Office
Robert Bausmith
Chairman
Jeffery Verney
Immediate Past Chair
Mathew P. Jasinski, Esq.
Vice Chair
Diane W. Whitney
Vice Chair
Joseph D. Spada
Secretary
Edwin Shirley
Chair–Audit & Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Stephen F. Roche
Chair–Development
Diane W. Whitney
Chair–Education and Community Engagement
Bruce Barth, Esq.
Chair–Finance
Kristin Roger
Vice Chair, Finance
Mark Hayes
Chair–Governance
Esther A. Pryor
Chair–Human Resources
Matthew H. Lynch
Chair–Investment
Kristen Phillips
Chair–Marketing
D. Weston Boyd
Vice Chair—Marketing
June Archer
Bruce Barth, Esq.
Marissa Baum
Robert C. Bausmith
D. Weston Boyd
Abraham L. Davis
Luis F. Diez-Morales, M.D.
Bob Garthwait, Jr.
Keith Grant
Mark Hayes
Gerald L. Hess
Mathew P. Jasinski, Esq.
Francys Jesson
Harvey Kelly
Janet Link
Pamela Lucas
Matthew H. Lynch
Robert Murray
Kristen Phillips
Esther A. Pryor
Stephen F. Roche
Kristin Roger
David M. Roth
Edwin S. Shirley
Joseph D. Spada
Karen J. Sprout
Jeffery R. Verney
Diane W. Whitney
DIRECTORS EMERITUS
Coleman H. Casey, Esq.
Hermine J. Drezner
Muriel Fleischmann
Robinson A. Grover*
Pierre Guertin
Morton E. Handel
Kenneth A. Jacobson, Esq.*
John K. Jepson, Esq.
Dwight A. Johnson, Esq.
Christopher Larsen
Charles B. Milliken, Esq.
Mrs. Millard H. Pryor, Jr.
James S. Remis
Mary Sargent
Margery Steinberg
Stephen J. Raffay*
H. Alex Vance, Jr.
Robert J. von Dohlen
Thomas R. Wildman, Esq.
*deceased
Board list through 8/30/2023
CONDUCTOR LAUREATE
Arthur Winograd
PAST BOARD
PRESIDENTS/CHAIR
1937–41 Francis Goodwin II
1941–51 Willard B. Rogers
1951–53 John E. Ellsworth
1951–55 Henry P. Bakewell
1955–56 Albert E. Holland
1956–58 Edward N. Allen
1958–60 Charles A. Spoerl
1960–62 Francis Goodwin II
1962–64 Charles B. Milliken
1964–65 Henry S. Beers
1965–68 Charles E. Lord
1968–71 Gordon N. Farquhar
1971–73 Paul A. Benke
1973–75 Christopher Larsen
1975–78 Henry S. Robinson, Jr.
1978–79 Harold C. Kraus
1978–81 Robert J. von Dohlen
1981–83 John C. Parish
1983–85 Robert J. Birnbaum
1985–87 Coleman H. Casey
1987–89 Morton E. Handel
1989–91 Arthur L. Handman
1991–93 Peter S. Burgess
1993–94 Arthur L. Handman
1994–96 Dwight Johnson
1996–99 Margery S. Steinberg
1999–02 Millard H. Pryor
2002–04 Thomas R.Wildman, Esq.
2004–07 David M. Roth
2007–09 Kenneth A. Jacobson, Esq.
2009–10 Pierre H. Guertin
2010–11 David M. Roth
2011–15 James S. Remis
2015–22 Jeff Verney
Dear friends,
Welcome to the Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s 81st season! Here you will find diverse, innovative programming under dynamic leadership at various locations throughout Greater Hartford. As you are reading this, chances are you are sitting in the intimate and luxurious Belding Theater at the Bushnell Performing Arts Center attending one of our Masterworks programs. But this is only the beginning of what awaits you. This season Pops! will take you next door to the art deco grandeur of Mortensen Hall; our Sunday Serenades Chamber Music series will take you to the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art; our Bravo! Gala will take you to Parkville Market; our Young Artists Competition will take you to the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts; HSO Extended will take you to Trinity College Chapel, Thomas Hooker Live, and Bushnell Park; and our Talcott Mountain Music Festival will take you to the bucolic Simsbury Meadows Performing Arts Center. Join us on our journey as we bring the joy of music to our community as a cornerstone of Greater Hartford’s rich arts and culture scene both inside and outside the concert hall.
We welcome pianist Clayton Stephenson as the 2024-2025 Joyce C. Willis Artist in Residence. The Joyce C. Willis Artist in Residence program is graciously funded by the Roberts Foundation for the Arts. We also welcome the inaugural class of the HSO Fellowship Program, designed to provide early-career string musicians from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups with invaluable experience and professional development opportunities within the symphony. The HSO Fellowship Program is funded with a generous grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
We are blessed with strong support from some of the leading foundations in Greater Hartford who have partnered with us to catalyze and accelerate the pace of change in diversity, equity, and inclusion, ensuring that our programming and community engagement efforts reflect the rich cultural tapestry that makes Greater Hartford so special. Our goal is to enhance our relevance and expand our reach, and our job will remain unfinished until the artists on our stages and the patrons in our audiences reflect the communities we serve.
As times change, so does the role we must play in building a stronger arts and culture ecosystem in Greater Hartford. Our future depends on our success in building collaborative alliances that unlock synergies with local colleges and universities, small and medium-sized businesses, other performing arts organizations, and museums, cultural institutions and libraries. This will require us to take some risks, explore new ideas and adjust course as we learn. To do this will require us to raise investment capital – what we are calling community impact funds – while continuing to build financial sustainability.
Music has a profound ability to unify and build a more inclusive community. In the words of American composer Howard Hanson, who served as director of the Eastman School of Music for 40 years (1924-1964), “We salute music not as an abstract art but as a great social force. We call upon ourselves to utilize this force for the benefit of mankind.”
We are so grateful for the Musicians of the HSO, for Carolyn Kuan our Music Director, for Adam Boyles our Assistant Conductor, for Steve Collins our President & CEO, and our staff, patrons, donors, sponsors, partners, volunteers, and community leaders who work tirelessly to make this vision a reality.
Sincerely,
Bob Bausmith
Chair, Hartford Symphony Orchestra
Board of Directors