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World Class Music

By Kerri Provost

December 11, 2012

The baritone crunched the air as he sang a drinking song in the no frills recital hall. Junhee Lee’s huge voice refused to allow anyone in the audience to sleep.

Laura Virella, a mezzo-soprano who splits her time between New York City and Berlin, moved listeners with her emotive performance.

These vocalists, along with pianist Rebecca de Almeida, came together for pianist Michael Korman‘s Master of Music Recital. Korman recently studied vocal accompanying at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.

Talent is not a rarity at The Hartt School, but this weekend, it was shining at the free performance in Berkman Recital Hall, located on a campus that spans Bloomfield, West Hartford, and Hartford.

The previous evening, at a former synagogue, free jazz reigned during the final performance in the Pork Pie Hat series.

Stephen Haynes was joined by guitarist Joe Morris and percussionist Warren Smith. Smith began the show by playing his instrument while walking through the aisles at the Charter Oak Cultural Center. They were joined by “bass choir” Jesse Heasly, Pat Kuehn, and Dorsey Bass.

In between songs, Haynes reminded the audience that we should never take for granted having access to high quality music.