The Hartt Community Division of the University of Hartford is a community arts school providing non-credit instruction in music, dance, and theatre to over 2,700 students of all ages from 100 cities and towns in the Hartford region.
The mission of the Community Division is three-fold:
- to provide programs for talented young artists with career aspirations
- to serve as many pre-college students as possible in programs in music, dance and theatre
- to serve adults with general programs in music, dance and theatre
The Community Division also is a certified member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts and subscribes to its commitment to "a nation where all Americans understand and appreciate the value of the arts in their lives, and in the lives of their communities.
Towards that end, the Community Division offers the following programs to all interested students:
Music
- Private Lessons in all instruments and voice taught by professional musician/teachers
- Pre-college orchestras and bands, including the Connecticut Youth Symphony, at various stages of musical development designed to complement the offerings at public and private schools in the region
- Connecticut Children's Chorus, a pre-college choir program for grades 1 - 12 that performs regularly with the Hartford Symphony, Hartt Chorale, and other professional ensembles
- Performer's Certificate Program, a two-year curriculum for talented high school students with interest in majoring in music in college
- First Steps in Music, an early-childhood music program known nationally for the quality of its work, for parents and their children aged birth - five
- An internationally-recognized Suzuki program of instruction, based on the curriculum developed by Shinichi Suzuki after World War II and providing instruction in violin, viola, cello, bass, guitar, and piano for students as young as five
- Adult programs including private lessons, drumming classes, music appreciation classes, special workshops & instrumental ensembles
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Dance
- Children's Ballet classes from age 3 & up using the curriculum of the former School of the Hartford Ballet
- General Dance classes in jazz, tap, hip-hop, modern, and other dance forms for children and adults
- Intensive Program in Ballet or Modern Theatre Dance for pre-college students who have significant interest and/or career or college aspirations in dance
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Theatre
- Special Saturday workshops for individuals with career aspirations in music theatre or voice
- Summer Vocal Institute, a special intensive workshop for high school singers and actors
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Community Effort for Hartford Youngsters
Beyond these basic programs that provide anyone in the community with quality instruction in the arts, the Hartt Community Division has a major commitment to a variety of specific constituencies, with an emphasis on youngsters from the City of Hartford :
The Fund for Access
- A financial aid program designed to ensure that all who wish to participate in the programs of the Community Division will not be prevented because of financial reasons
- The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving has committed over $120,000 in the past four years to support this program
- The Community Division Advisory Board, a parents and friends group of the school, raised $20,000 last year to support the fund and has a goal of $40,000 for next year
- Support has also come from the Long Foundation, the Ensworth Charitable Trust, the West Hartford Rotary, and the Ellen Jeanne Goldfarb Charitable Remainder Trust
- This year, each family of the Community Division is being asked to contribute a minimum of $10 per semester towards the fund as part of the registration process for the school
- Last year, we gave out over $50,000 on a sliding scale in aid to nearly 75 students, the majority of whom are from Hartford . This year, we hope to double that amount to 150 students
- Individuals must submit an application and a tax form to be considered for this program, with financial qualification based on the public school model of free and reduced lunch.
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Other Community Efforts for Hartford youngsters
- The Dance Department has continued a long-standing program of its predecessor schools called the Dance Program for City Youth (DPCY). The program provides instruction and seeks to identify talented and committed dancers, primarily from Hartford , with financial need who would benefit from the Intensive Programs of the School.
- During 2005-2006, Hartt began a program in collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club of Hartford. This program has provided instruction for students from the Boys and Girls Club in violin. These weekly lessons are based on the Suzuki method of instruction. In addition, Chauncey Patterson, the violist of the Miami String Quartet, in residence at The Hartt School of the University of Hartford , visited the Boys and Girls Club of Asylum Hill and worked with the violin students and presented a workshop to a large gathering of Boys and Girls Club students. This is consistent with the outreach component of the Miami String Quartet residency, and provides a unique experience for students to meet an internationally recognized classical musician.
- This program has been supported in part by the United Arts 2005 of the Greater Hartford Arts Council.
- Last year, we co-sponsored "Movin", a workshop led by Pilobolus and began a pre-ballet class for Club students.
- The Community Division has partnered with the Salvation Army on Barbour Street in Hartford to submit a proposal to offer Suzuki strings to students from Clark Elementary School who participate in the after-school program at the Salvation Army. Funding is being sought from Lincoln Financial Group through the Salvation Army.
- Miami String Quartet (Hartt resident string quartet) violist Chauncey Patterson gave a workshop at the C.R.T. after-school program on Main Street in Hartford last Spring. This is a first of a regular commitment from the Miami String Quartet to use their experiences as a professional musician as a role model for city youngsters.
- Recruitment of private lesson students in woodwinds and brass at Annie Fisher School in Hartford for many years due to the efforts of music teacher Susan Hanjian. Students then receive Fund for Access support for private lessons for those who qualify.
- Recruitment of students from Kinsella Arts Magnet School in Hartford for talented students with financial need who are given financial aid to attend programs in our school. Other collaborative efforts are underway including a dance class taught at Kinsella by one of our dance teachers.
- The Hartt School Community Division is proud to serve as a member of the Kinsella Magnet School Arts Advisory Board. One of our directors attends regular meetings to discuss the arts in the city of Hartford, collaborative efforts that arts organizations can design in an effort to improve instruction at Kinsella.
- In the last five years, we have developed a working relationship with the Artists Collective on Albany Avenue that allowed us to collaborate (thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts) in Creative Communities, a program for students from public housing communities in Hartford based on a national model. In addition, we partnered in the identification of Collective students who had an interest in the Suzuki string program at Hartt.
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- The Joza Karas Adult String Ensemble, a program for beginning adult string players who are not yet ready to perform in community orchestras
- Ensembles from the school perform regularly at the Connecticut Children's Medical Center and other hospitals, retirement communities throughout the region, and at other community activities that require musical and dance performances
- Training program for Hartford Public School Suzuki string teachers that allowed the district to introduce string instruction in a variety of elementary schools in the city
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