Alumni Javier Colon and Rebecca Correia Share Advice with Hartt Students

(L-R) Javier Colon '00, Hartt School Dean Aaron Flagg, and Rebecca Correia ‘03 pose for a picture in Lincoln Theater.

Colon and Correia perform for Hartt students in Lincoln Theater.

Students talk to Colon and Correia at the end of Tuesday's Paranov Hour.

By Nick Frogameni '12, '14

The Hartt School community welcomed alumni Javier Colon '00 and Rebecca Correia '03 to perform their original music and talk to students about how to build a career as a singer/songwriter during Hartt's Paranov Hour Tuesday afternoon in Lincoln Theater.

Colon, who rose to fame as the winner of the first season of NBC’s hit television show The Voice, performed multiple self-written songs, including “Stitch by Stitch,” “Echo,” and “When,” accompanied by Correia on guitar and piano. Correia, with over 200 songs and five indie albums to her credit, also performed a song that she wrote titled “Wishing Well.”

See NBC Connecticut's coverage of Colon and Correia's return to campus.

Between pieces, students asked Colon and Correia questions regarding their musical motivations, songwriting techniques, life in the music industry, and how to deal with “down slopes” in a musical career.

“It’s not easy, as a singer/songwriter, we can’t go and get a degree and be guaranteed a job, it doesn’t work like that. So many factors come into play, so you have to take what you learned in school and apply it to what you do in the real world to be successful,” Colon told the students.

“It’s possible," said Correia. "You just need to be creative, and put yourself out there and use the skills you’ve learned. Don’t limit yourself to just one musical style. You have so much potential, so be creative in all your musical business endeavors.”

Colon and Correia reminisced about how they themselves had attended the required Paranov Hour sessions when they were Hartt School students, and how their education at the University of Hartford prepared them for careers in music.

“I listen to recordings of myself from high school and realize that I had potential but I also had a lot to work on. My voice grew a lot in the five years that I attended the Hartt School," Colon said. "The training I received here gave me more control over what I could do with my voice. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the educators that pushed me throughout my education.”