Dear friends,
Welcome to the Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s 82nd season! The HSO is Connecticut’s premier musical organization and a cornerstone of Hartford’s rich arts and culture scene. Our mission is to enrich lives and community through great music: live music performed with dazzling artistry in ways that are inspiring and relevant.
“So, you might ask, do we need orchestras anymore? Do we need classical music anymore? Is it relevant?” These are questions asked by American violinist and conductor, Joshua Bell, in an inspiring TED Talk he recorded in April 2025. “I want you to imagine walking into your hometown concert hall. You’re there to hear the symphony. What happens there? You take a seat, and the musicians start filing on the stage. Each one of those musicians has spent a lifetime – tens of thousands of hours – mastering their craft. Each instrument in their hands is itself a piece of history – a testament to human ingenuity and creativity. The conductor walks onto the stage, and she gives a downbeat, and the room comes alive with the sounds of the symphony. Every note has a direction; every harmony has a purpose. And you sit there in the audience being taken on a journey, not just being entertained passively but actively listening and using your imagination. And you’re doing it alongside hundreds of other people from different walks of life, different ages, races, religions, and political persuasions. None of those differences at that moment mean anything because you are unified by the music and reminded of your shared humanity.”
Joshua Bell reminds us that orchestras must be more than arts and culture institutions. They also have a crucial role to play as civic organizations by promoting community well-being, fostering civic engagement, supporting music education and lifelong learning, and reflecting and defining our community identity. This is why we have invested in a renewed focus on learning and social impact programs as we work collaboratively with our community to ensure the HSO fulfills its role as a leading civic organization.
This season promises to be especially exciting as we welcome six-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated violinist and composer, Curtis Stewart, as the 2025-2026 Joyce C. Willis Artist in Residence. The Joyce C. Willis Artist in Residence program is graciously funded by the J. Walton Bissell Foundation. We also welcome two new members 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.
Especially noteworthy is the HSO’s partnership with Connecticut Ballet. For the first time in over 20 years, Connecticut Ballet’s annual production of the Nutcracker will be performed with live orchestra. And for Valentine’s Day weekend, Concert Theatre Works will join the HSO for a fresh and immersive concert experience of “Romeo and Juliet: A Theatrical Concert for Orchestra with Actors,” commissioned by Royal Albert Hall in London and premiered at Tanglewood in July 2025.
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 Board of Directors, 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
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.
Artistic Operations
Nathan Scalzone, Director of Artistic Operations
Emily Rafala, Production Manager
DEVELOPMENT
Eric R. Hutchinson, Director of Development
Rich McCarty, Capital Campaign Officer
Mariel Christiana, Manager, Corporate & Foundation Relations
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 & Communications Coordinator
TICKET SERVICES
Charles Feierabend, Manager, Box Office