Steel Pan Artist Andy Narrell & More Set for Hartt School in November

The Hartt School presents a variety of music, dance, and theatre performances this November, and all are open to the public. All events take place on the University of Hartford's main campus, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT, unless otherwise noted. Please call the University Box Office at 860.768.4228 or 800.274.8587 or visit www.hartford.edu/hartt for tickets and information.

The Hartt School presents Interface, a senior dance composition production featuring works choreographed by
Tessa Crawford, Lauren Curley, Rebecca DeNies, Meghan Dodd, and Haruka Tamura, and danced by the Division's talented student body. Interface is presented Friday, November 1, at 7:30 PM; and Saturday, November 2, at 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM, at the Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Theater, Handel Performing Arts Center, 35 Westbourne Parkway, Hartford. Admission is $20, with discounts for seniors, students, and groups of 10 or more. In their respective works Crawford, DeNies, and Tamura explore the types of relationships that develop from human interaction and dependency, on both an internal and external level. Curley presents a work that is inspired by concepts presented in Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being, while Dodd's work focuses on the rawness of finding inner strength to conquer life's obstacles. In addition to choreographing their own works, each senior will be performing solo works commissioned by high profile choreographers such as Jon Bond, Jaclyn K. Walsh, Rachelle Scott, Gregory Dolbashian, and Daisuke Omiya.

The Hartt School presents Hartt Chamber Winds, on Friday, November 1, at 7:30 PM, in Millard Auditorium. There is no admission charge. For this performance, The Hartt Wind Ensemble explores old and new Latin American sounds. Guest conductor Edward Cumming will begin the program by conducting the Cuban Overture by Gershwin. Filling out the rest of the concert is a new work by Marques called Danzon No. 2 and an old favorite by Aaron Copland, El Salon Mexico.

The Hartt School presents the Hartt Orchestra on Friday, November 8, at 7:30 PM, in Millard Auditorium. Admission is $20, with discounts for seniors, students, and groups of 10 or more. The second orchestral performance of the season features Kernis's Musica Celestis for strings and Montague's "Snakebite," conducted by Director of Bands Glen Adsit; Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 4; and Stravinsky's Petrushka.

The Hartt School presents a special celebration for long-time faculty member, the Watson Morrison 85th Birthday Concert, on Sunday, November 10, at 3:00 PM, in Millard Auditorium. There is no admission charge. Dr. Watson Morrison, Professor Emeritus of Piano, celebrates an unprecedented 59 years of teaching at The Hartt School, the past 12 years of which have been with the Hartt Community Division. Morrison performs "For Watson Morrison," by Hartt faculty member David Macbride; Schubert's Sonata No. 10 in B-flat Major, D. 960; Wagner's Liebestod, from Tristan und Isolde; and Liszt's variations on the Crucifixus movement from J. S. Bach's B-Minor Mass.

The Hartt School presents a Carl Allen Jazz Drums Master Class on Wednesday, November 13, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, inMillard Auditorium. This master class is open to the public for observation, and there is no admission charge. With more than 200 recordings to his credit, Allen is a gifted drummer, sideman, bandleader, entrepreneur, and educator. Visit http://carlallen.com to learn more about Mr. Allen.

The Hartt School presents the Hartt Concert Jazz Band (Big Band) on Friday, November 15, at 7:30 PM, in Millard Auditorium. There is no admission charge. Join the Hartt Big Band for a spectacular night of music-making.

The Hartt School presents Jazz Vocal Recitals, featuring the students of Shawnn Monteiro, on Saturday, November 16, at 7:30 PM; and Sunday, November 17, at 3:00 PM, Millard Auditorium. There is no admission charge.

The Hartt School presents the plays Glengarry Glen Ross and Top Girls, in repertory, Tuesday, November 19, through Sunday, November 24. Performances of Glengarry Glen Ross are Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, at 7:30 PM. Performances of Top Girls are Wednesday and Friday, at 7:30 PM, and Sunday at 3:00 PM. All performances are in the Kent McCray Theater, Handel Performing Arts Center, 35 Westbourne Parkway, Hartford. Admission is $20, with discounts for seniors, students, and groups of 10 or more. David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1984 and was made into a successful film in 1992. The play is a brutal and often comedic examination of the pressures and the euphoria of selling. A handful of real estate salesmen, loaded with testosterone, fight for survival in a world of "leads" and "sits" and "closings." Armed with Mamet's brilliant rapid-fire dialogue each character struggles to climb to the top or merely to stay afloat. Guest director, Terry Layman directs this American Classic. Top Girls is directed by guest director Nora Chester.

The Hartt School presents The 2013-2014 Richard P. Garmany Chamber Music Series, featuring Andy Narell and his ensemble, on Thursday, November 21, at 7:30 PM, in Millard Auditorium. Admission is $35, with discounts for students, seniors, and groups of 10 or more. A special pre-concert dinner at the 1877 Club precedes this concert. Patrons may purchase tickets for only the concert, or for both the dinner and concert. Paris-based Narell is acknowledged as the world's leading exponent of the steel drum, or "pans." His extraordinary career has included collaborations with artists as diverse as Tito Puente, Bela Fleck, and Aretha
Franklin, and his work has been celebrated on frequent NPR appearances and in two full-length film documentaries. In addition, his jazz-inflected, Caribbean influenced music has been heard on more than a dozen best-selling recordings. For this rare East Coast appearance, Narell is joined by an all-star ensemble of sidemen, all of whom who are distinguished artists in their own right. Visit www.andynarell.net to learn more about Andy Narell.

The Hartt School presents Hartt Dances, featuring Petruschka, a collaboration of the Dance Division and Hartt
Orchestra, Friday, November 22, and Saturday, November 23, at 7:30 PM; and Sunday, November 24, at 2:00 PM, in Lincoln Theater. Admission is $20, with discounts for seniors, students, and groups of 10 or more. Hartt's fall mainstage dance concert, highlightes Stephen Pier's contemporary restaging of Petruschka, features the Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major, BWV 1049, with choreography by Doris Humphrey; José Limón's Symphony for Strings, to the music of William Schuman; and a new creation by Katie Stevinson-Nollet, set to the work of Stephen Montague. The entire concert is accompanied by a full orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Edward Cumming.

The Hartt School presents the Hartt Fall Choral Concert, on Saturday, November 23, at 6:00 PM, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 120 Sigourney Street, Hartford, 860.527.8133. Admission is a suggested donation of $15. The Hartt School choruses, under the direction of Edward Bolkovac, Carolina Flores, and Sara O'Bryan, present a concert featuring works by Benjamin Britten and other contemporary composers in honor of the 100th anniversary of Britten's birth. A birthday cake and reception will follow this invigorating program.