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/musician_highlights/ 

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
   Sponsored by Kristen Phillips
   & Matthew Schreck 
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
Candance M. Lammers,
Martha Kayser 
Simon Bilyk
Diane Frederickson
Krzysztof Gadawski
Yuri Kharenko-Golduber
Sean Klopfenstein
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
Nicholas Citro
Patricia Daly Vance
Devon Duarte
Gretchen Frazier
Bethany Hargreaves
Martha Knieriem
Brandin Kreuder
Arthur Masi
   Sponsored by Bob Bausmith
   and Jill Peters-Gee
   The Claire & Millard Pryor
   Orchestra Committee Co-Chair

CELLO 
Jia Cao, acting principal cello
Peter Zay,
   acting assistant principal
Cara Cheung*
Jennifer Combs*
Tom Hudson
Yoonhee Ko
Eva Roebuck +
Adam Wilson
Ssu Yang Yu +

BASS 
Edward R. Rozie, Jr., principal
   Sponsored by Brook
   & Charlotte Jason 
Robert Groff, assistant principal
Tony Connaway
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 
Stephen Wade, acting principal
   The Claire & Millard Pryor Orchestra
   Committee Co-Chair 
Marilyn Krentzman,
   acting assistant principal

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
Justin Ruleman 
Nick Rubenstein
Joshua Michal

TRUMPET 
John Charles Thomas,
   acting principal trumpet
Jack Farnham

TROMBONE 
Brian L. Diehl, principal 
Robert Hoveland,
   assistant principal

BASS TROMBONE 
Gabriel Rice +

TUBA 
Jarrod Briley, principal

TIMPANI 
Eugene Bozzi, principal
   Sponsored by Carlotta &
   Bob Garthwait, Jr. 

PERCUSSION 
Robert McEwan, principal
David West +

HARP 
Susan Knapp Thomas,
   principal
   Sponsored by Beth
   & Rick Costello

PIANO 
Gary Chapman

LIBRARIAN
Nathan Lowman

PERSONNEL MANAGER
Jaroslaw Lis

STAGE MANAGER 
Jeremy Philbin, I.A.T.S.E. 

*On leave for the 2023-2024 season
+One-year appointment for the 2023-2024 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 
Charles S. Freitag, Production Manager 
Jaroslaw Lis, Personnel Manager 

DEVELOPMENT 
Eric R. Hutchinson, Director of Development
Rich McCarty, Capital Campaign Officer
Rob Beasley, Corporate and Foundation
   Relations Manager
Deb Shulansky, Assistant Manager,
   Donor Engagement 
Noa Michaud, Assistant 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, Assistant Manager of
   Learning and Social Impact

MARKETING & PUBLIC RELATIONS 
Ashley Fedigan, Director of Marketing and
   Public Relations
Ashley Overton, Assistant Manager of
   Marketing and Digital Media Communications 

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 80th 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 the Connecticut Convention Center; our Young Artists Competition will take you to the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts; HSO Extended will take you to Parkville Market 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 cultural scene both inside and outside the concert hall.

Like many organizations, the HSO’s 2022-2023 season was one of renewal. Last season we said
goodbye to several beloved staff members and dedicated board members. We thank each of them for their service and wish them all the best. We also had many open positions in our orchestra due to musician turnover and pandemic-related complications in conducting auditions and experienced an extended negotiation as we worked with the American Federation of Musicians to negotiate a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. 

We begin the 2023-2024 season with four new key employees on our administrative team and talented new board members. We are busy with auditions that will bring talented new musicians to Hartford and recognize existing players who have won leadership positions in our orchestra. And, as I am writing this, we are close to signing a new four-year employment agreement that will re-establish competitive wages for our world-class musicians. They deserve nothing less. 

This year we will focus on improving community engagement, developing new and more diverse audiences, revitalizing our education programs, and accelerating progress towards a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive future. The lack of sufficient racial diversity in the staff and musicians of most American orchestras impairs their ability to effectively connect with all members of our community. We are thrilled to welcome Melissa White as the second Joyce C. Willis Artist in Residence for the 2023-2024 season, but we have much more to do in the way of community-first program design. Our job will not be done until the faces of the artists on our stages and the patrons in our audiences reflect the communities we serve.

We need the Musicians of the HSO in our community now more than ever. And they do far more than make the music. To paraphrase Karl Paulnack, Retired Professor of Music Performance at Ithaca College, they’re therapists for the human soul, a spiritual version of a chiropractor, physical therapist, someone who works with our insides to see if they can get things to line up, to see if we can come into harmony with ourselves and be healthy and happy and well. 

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, and community leaders who work tirelessly to make this vision a reality.

Sincerely, 

Bob Bausmith
Chair, Hartford Symphony Orchestra
Board of Directors