Concerts to Celebrate Gryc's Retirement

(L-R) Leonid Sigal, concertmaster of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra; Stephen Gryc; and Edward Cumming, director of orchestral activities at Hartt and former music director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.

The Hartt School will celebrate the retirement of long-time composition faculty member Stephen M. Gryc with two concerts featuring his work.

On Saturday, Oct. 13, and Sunday, Oct. 14,  the Hartt Wind Ensemble and Philharmonia will perform in Gryc’s honor. The concerts will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Millard Auditorium.

Admission is free for students, faculty, and staff with current University ID. Admission for the general public is $20, with discounts for seniors, students, and groups. For tickets, please call the University Box Office at 860.768.4228 or 800.274.8587 or visit www.hartford.edu/hartt.

The first of the two concerts will feature guest conductor Eric Rombach-Kendall, director of bands at the University of New Mexico, conducting Masquerade Variations, which he commissioned from Gryc and premiered 14 years ago. Don't miss this exciting chance to hear the Hartt Wind Ensemble perform the world premiere of Gryc's Concerto for Wind Ensemble. Philharmonia (formerly known as the Hartt Symphony Orchestra) will perform Fantasy Variations by Gryc and will feature Hartt faculty member Carrie Koffman, saxophone, and Concerto for Orchestra by Bartok. A special pre-concert dinner will take place at the 1877 Club.

The second concert will feature three world-class soloists performing with the Philharmonia and Wind Ensemble. Leonid Sigal, concertmaster of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, will play the concerto he premiered with the HSO written for him by Gryc. The Wind Ensemble will feature Phil Smith, principal trumpet, and Joseph Alessi, principal trombone, both of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, on pieces written for them by Gryc. In addition, Smith will play a new solo work by Joe Turrin, a fellow composition professor and friend of Gryc, with the Wind Ensemble.

Stephen M. Gryc received his BM in music education, MM in music theory, and MM and DMA in music composition from the University of Michigan. He studied composition with Pulitzer Prize winning composers William Bolcom and Leslie Bassett. At Hartt, he teaches courses in composition, orchestration, and the business aspects of a music composition career.

Gryc's expertise in composing instrumental music has brought him commissions from a diverse group of the world's leading artists. His works for flute have served as contest pieces in international flute performance competitions. His works for large ensembles have been performed nationally and internationally by such groups as the Minnesota Symphony, the Hartford Symphony, the US Marine Band, and the Eastman Wind Ensemble. He is the composer of the University of Hartford's alma mater and fight song.

In addition, Gryc received grants and fellowships from the ASCAP Foundation, Connecticut Commission on the Arts, the MacDowell Colony, the Charles Ives Center for American Music, Ucross Foundation, Meet the Composer, and the University of Hartford. He won the ASCAP Foundation's 1986 Rudolf Nissim Prize for orchestral music and the University of Hartford's 2002 James and Frances Bent Award for Artistic Achievement.

His music has been published by Alphonse Leduc, Boosey and Hawkes, Carl Fischer, Robert King, Vivace Press and others, and his works are recorded on the Opus One, Capstone, Centaur, Klavier, and Summit labels.