Hartt Wind Ensemble Opens 2026–27 Academic Concert Season 9/29/2026

The Hartt Wind Ensemble opens its 2026–27 academic concert season on Tuesday, September 29, at 7:30 p.m. in Lincoln Theater on the campus of the University of Hartford. The performance marks the ensemble’s first concert of the academic year under the direction of new Director of Bands and Wind Ensembles, Dr. T. André Feagin, Associate Professor of Conducting at The Hartt School. Admission is free.

The program reflects an artistic vision centered on communication, craftsmanship, and the expressive possibilities of the modern wind ensemble. Rather than beginning his first concert at Hartt with the expected celebratory fanfare, Feagin opens with Gustav Holst’s Hammersmith, one of the wind repertoire’s most significant works. The deliberate choice places artistry, patience, and musical depth at the forefront.

“There is an obvious temptation to begin a new season with a fanfare,” Feagin said. “Instead, I wanted our first sounds together to ask for patience, artistry, and craftsmanship. Hammersmith gives us the opportunity to establish from the very beginning that what matters most is not simply how the music goes, but what it communicates.”

The concert continues with Shoutout by Roshanne Etezady, Vincent Persichetti’s Pageant, and Carter Pann’s intimate Hold This Boy and Listen. The evening culminates with Benjamin Horne’s Spiritual Symphony, winner of the 2025 National Band Association/William D. Revelli Memorial Band Composition Contest. Drawing upon African American spirituals including Follow the Drinking Gourd, Motherless Child, Deep River, and Go Tell It on the Mountain, the four-movement work journeys through struggle, longing, hope, freedom, and proclamation.

Together, these works usher in a new season for the Hartt Wind Ensemble, grounded in the belief that musical excellence finds its fullest purpose through meaningful and expressive communication.

This concert is free and open to the public.