Metcalf in the Hartford Courant, Thomson in West Hartford News, Griswold on Patch.com, and More

Steve Metcalf, director of instrumental studies at The Hartt School, was quoted in the Tuesday, Jan. 18, issue of the Hartford Courant in a story about the hiring of Carolyn Kuan as the Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s new music director. Kuan will be the 10th musical director in the HSO’s 68-year history, and the first woman to hold that position. “It was a wonderful choice, and it was the right choice,” said Metcalf, who was a member of the search committee. “Carolyn was amazingly strong in rehearsal — not in a despotic way, but she exuded confidences and preparation.” To read the full story, click here.

Bill Thomson, assistant professor of illustration in the Hartford Art School, is having original art from Chalk, his latest children’s book on display in the children’s department of the Noah Webster Library in West Hartford. The exhibition was noted in the Jan. 9 edition of the West Hartford News. The amazingly realistic illustrations on display are from a wordless picture book, the fourth book from Thomson and the first that he has also “written” himself. To read more about the exhibition, which runs through mid-February,, click here

Renwick Griswold, associate professor of sociology in Hillyer College, was quoted in a Jan. 8 story on the Farmington Patch.com web site about whether or not there is a “Connecticut” accent. Griswold, a New Britain native, believes there is such an accent and it can be heard when local residents drop the “t” in New Britain. “The accent has been around since my parents can remember and it’s possible that it was a result of an English accent brought here by some of the first settlers in the area,” he said. To read the full story, and see an accompanying video, click here.

Christine Greene, a nutritionist and an adjunct faculty member who teaches courses on anatomy and physiology at the University, was quoted in a New York Daily News blog on Monday, Jan. 10, about how tart cherries can act like a natural ibuprofen for the muscles of sore runners. Tart cherries “work like an anti-inflammatory decreasing swelling, which is what causes pain,” said Greene. Tough workouts cause tons of micro-tears in your muscles, Greene explained. As those tears rebuild and repair, the muscles gain strength. “That repair has to happen. Cherries minimize the swelling and you have less pain,” Greene said. To read the full blog post, click here.

A gift to the University’s Women’s Education and Leadership Fund (WELFund) from the Business and Professional Women’s Club of Hartford was highlighted in the “Nonprofit Notebook” column in the Monday, Dec. 27, issue of the Hartford Business Journal. Jennifer Sanborn, director of the WELFund, said “We are in the planning stages of creating an undergraduate leadership experience for women students. This gift from The Business and Professional Women’s Club of Hartford comes at an exciting time and will go a long way toward making our plans a reality.” To read the column, click here

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