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Our dynamic and accomplished alumni are making an impact all over the world. They are accomplished musicians, dancers, choreographers, actors, singers, educators, technicians, and arts administrators who have earned awards and acclaim in their respective fields.
Alumni News
Chris Anne Powers '95 Awarded the 2026 Hartt Alumni Award
Hartt alumna Chris Anne Powers ’95 is the recipient of the 2026 Hartt Alumni Award. Since 1959, this prestigious award has recognized outstanding Hartt alumni who have made significant accomplishments in the performing arts as artists, scholars, educators, managers, and technicians.
Chris Anne Powers has been a music educator since 1995 and currently teaches K–5 general music, band, chorus, and theater in Greenwich, Connecticut. She earned her undergraduate degree in music education and her Kodály certificate from The Hartt School, where she studied with Dr. John Feierabend, and she received a master’s degree in education from Sacred Heart University. She now serves as Director of the Kodály Certification Program at The Hartt School and teaches Methodology II and III.
Chris is an endorsed teacher trainer with the Feierabend Association for Music Education (FAME) and is one of only two educators in the United States to hold triple-endorsement in First Steps in Music, Conversational Solfege Levels 1 and 2, and Conversational Solfege Upper Levels. A frequent national presenter, she leads certification courses and professional development workshops for universities, school districts, and conferences across the country.
Chris is a contributing author to Feierabend Fundamentals (GIA Publications, 2018), is the creator and curator of the Feierabend Repertoire Database (GIA Publications, 2020), and is a co-author of The Book of Tunes for Sight-Reading (GIA Publications, 2026).
In addition to her teaching and leadership roles, Chris has served as a mentor and cooperating teacher, supporting beginning and pre-service educators. She is also a conductor with the Fairfield County Children’s Choir and the Greenwich Public Schools Honor Choir. In 2019, she was honored with the Greenwich Distinguished Teachers Award.
The Hartt Alumni Award
2025 – Brandee Younger '06
2024 – Christopher R. Selby '92
2023 – Steve Davis '89
2022 – Javier Colon '00
2021 – Gregory J. Banaszak ’88
2020 – Gwyneth Walker M.M. '70, D.M.A. '77
2019 – David Lazaar Katz ’77, AD’84, M’89; Orin Wolf '01
2018 – Shane Shanahan '98
2017 – Martha Summa-Chadwick '83
2016 – Jimmy Greene '97
2015 – Phillip Boykin '95
2014 – Ed Alton '81
Mikaela Papasodero
BFA, Dance Performance, 2019
Mikaela's senior piece, Spectrum, has since been performed at the Ailey Citigroup Theater, the Boston Contemporary Dance Festival, and the Versatility Dance Festival. She was also recently asked to perform the work for a show at RIOULT Dance Center, where she was able to present alongside artists such as Jenn Freeman, Maleek Washington, Jon Lehrer, Pascal Rioult, and Hannah Cullen.
Mikaela currently works for two professional dance companies in NYC: Amirov Dance Theater and Rioult Repertory Project. She also enjoys traveling all over the United States to perform and guest teach. Learn more about Mikaela's Hartt experience.
I was extremely close with my class, and still talk to all of them everyday. They’re my family, and they always will be.
Ryan Speedo Green '08, World Renowned Bass BaritoneI firmly believe that my time at The Hartt School laid the musical foundation that I rely on every time I step on stage to perform, and it's because of this remarkable foundation that I am able to stand so tall today.
Nicole Arruda
BA in Performing Arts Management, 2019
After landing an internship at the artist management company, Triple 8 Management, Nicole secured her current full time position with AGD Entertainment in the Zero to Sixty artist development program– a curriculum based day-to-day management program that provides education, mentorship, and support services for developing artists. Learn more about Nicole's Hartt experience.
Lean on a small, tight-knit family like the PAM program and it's professors and maximize every connection it gives you. Trust me, that [program] ended up making me stand out...because it gave me a deeper, more personal, and different look at the industry.