Donna Menhart Selected for Full-time Faculty Position Following Nat'l Search

After a full-scale search that included two international finalists, Donna Menhart has been selected for Hartt's Assistant Professor of Ear Training faculty appointment.

Ms. Menhart has been teaching Kodaly and traditional ear training, music theory fundamentals, and harmony classes at The Hartt School since 1993. She received the University of Hartford Sustained Excellence in Teaching Award in 2007. She also serves as the coordinator and music theory/Kodaly ear-training instructor for the Performer's Certificate Program, a college-preparatory program for advance high school musicians she developed for The Hartt School Community Division.

Speaking about her long history of connection with Hartt, which began when she was a graduate student, Menhart stated, "The Hartt School has become a part of me...I have served on the faculty both at the collegiate level and for the Community Division, as well as in administrative positions...I am honored to solidify the relationship I have with the University of Hartford, and look forward to a successful future serving the entire University community through my professional endeavors at The Hartt School."

Menhart currently is Vice President/President-Elect and Newsletter Editor on the Board of the Kodaly Educators of Southern New England (KESNE), and presents regularly at conferences for local, regional, and national professional music organizations including The Hartt School Music Theory Colloquium, the Connecticut Music Educators Association (CMEA), KESNE, and the Organization for American Kodaly Educators (OAKE). Menhart recently was named the National Program Chair for the OAKE National Conference, which will be held in Hartford in 2013.

Hartt Dean Aaron Flagg summarized the enthusiasm of the search committee and the entire Hartt community when he said of Menhart's appointment, "We are pleased that, through a highly competitive search process, our own Donna Menhart has earned this sought-after appointment. Donna's strong teaching, scholarship agenda, and vision to make Hartt a national model for ear-training methodology impressed the entire search committee, and we look forward to the leadership she will provide here at Hartt and far beyond."

Menhart also is the choral director of the Treble Choir for grades 5-8 and the high school Bel Canto Choir at St. Andrew Church in Colchester, CT, and has successfully sponsored and coached young singers for acceptance and participation in the OAKE National Youth, Children's, and Concert Choirs. She continues to be active as a pianist in the Hartford performing community, performing with the Charter Oak Flutes as well as in a benefit concert for the Brendan Romaneck Alliance for American Music, and as a guest performer with the Blackledge Woodwind Quintet. Menhart received Level III Kodaly Certification and a double Master of Music in piano pedagogy and music theory from The Hartt School, where she was inducted into Pi Kappa Lambda, the National Music Honor Society, for which she serves as Secretary/Treasurer for Hartt's Epsilon Gamma Chapter. Menhart received a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from the University of Rhode Island.

The Hartt School is the comprehensive performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford that offers innovative degree programs in music, dance, and theatre. Founded in 1920, Hartt has been an integral part of the University of Hartford since its charter merged the then Hartt School of Music, the Hartford Art School, and Hillyer College to create the University in 1957. 2010 markEd Hartt's 90th year of providing world class performing arts education to students in Greater-Hartford and around the world. With more than 400 concerts, recitals, plays, master classes, dance performances, and musical theatre productions a year, performance is central to Hartt's curriculum. For more information about The Hartt School, visit www.hartford.edu/hartt. 

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