Curt Blood

Education

BM, New England Conservatory of Music

Clarinetist Curt Blood joined The Hartt School collegiate faculty in the fall of 2006 and The Hartt School Community Division faculty in the fall of 2015. He has been an active teacher and performer in New England since 1982, when he was appointed Principal Clarinetist of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, he happily moved to the assistant principal chair. Additionally, he has performed with many of the area's finest orchestras, including the New Haven Symphony, Springfield Symphony, and Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic, and has performed in Carnegie Hall and Symphony Hall in Boston. In the mid-2000s, Mr. Blood served as Principal Clarinetist with the Buzzards Bay Musicfest in Marion, Massachusetts. He has played under the direction of esteemed conductors Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, and Leonard Slatkin.

During his career with the HSO, Mr. Blood performed with many great artists, from Luciano Pavarotti, Itzhak Perlman, and Yo-Yo Ma, to Rod Stewart, Tony Bennett, and Aretha Franklin. Mr. Blood has performed concertos by Mozart and Copland, as soloist with the Hartford Symphony in Mortensen Hall in Hartford and Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts.

In addition to his work at The Hartt School, Mr. Blood’s teaching credits have included positions at the University of Connecticut, Wesleyan University, and Trinity College. His past students have performed throughout the country with ensembles including The Minnesota Orchestra, Albany Symphony, Glimmerglass Opera, and The United States Coast Guard Band. Many of his students are dedicated music educators in Connecticut and throughout the Northeast.

Blood graduated from New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He studied clarinet with William Wrzesien.