Hartt School alumnus Javier Colon '00 Triumphs On The Voice

Hartt School alumnus Javier Colon '00 (music education) has won the inaugural season of NBC's popular singing competition The Voice. Colon won the top prize of $100,000 and a recording contract. Several of his performances from the show quickly jumped to the iTunes Top 10, and he has a web site, www.javiercolon.com, where fans may even buy Javier Colon t-shirts and baseball caps.

Colon, who has skyrocketed to fame since the show began airing in late April, is scheduled to return to the University of Hartford campus on Saturday, October 22, to perform in Lincoln Theater as part of Hawktober Weekend, the University's official alumni weekend. Tickets are scheduled to go on sale in mid- to late-August. Additional information will be announced as it becomes available.

In addition, a national tour by the eight semifinalists on The Voice, including Colon, will stop in Wallingford at the Toyota Presents Oakdale Theatre on August 5.

Colon, 34, who lives in West Hartford with his wife and two daughters, thanked The Hartt School and the University of Hartford for their support in an interview published earlier this week in Avon Patch. "I want to thank people in West Hartford, including everyone at Hartt and the whole University of Hartford, for their support. Hartt was how I fell in love with West Hartford in the first place," Colon said. "I'm going to do my best to bring the title home."

Colon was one of four finalists on The Voice, each of whom performed an original song on Tuesday night's show. Following those performances, viewers had an opportunity to vote for one of the four to win the top prize.

On Wednesday night's "results show," viewers learned that Colon had edged out second place finisher Dia Frampton by less than 2 percent of the total vote. Frampton's Tuesday night performance of her original song, Inventing Shadows, hit No. 1 on the iTunes chart on Wednesday, and Colon's performance of his original song, Stitch by Stitch, landed at No. 2 on iTunes.

An emotional Colon appeared stunned when he was announced as the winner. "I want to thank everybody at home who believed in me and who voted for me," Colon said as he was showered with confetti. Colon, a devoted family man whose musical career has had its ups and downs, has said throughout the show that he entered the competition to provide a better life for his children.

During Wednesday night's results show, each of the four finalists performed a duet with a well-known artist. Colon and music icon Stevie Nicks performed a stunning duet of Nicks's hit song, Landslide.

For more about Colon, visit his website, www.javiercolon.com or visit NBC's official website for the The Voice, www.nbc.com/the-voice.

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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