HCD faculty, Jazz Studies
HCD Music
Hartt Community DivisionEducation
Post-graduate studies in Contemporary Improvisation, New England Conservatory of Music
Master’s in Jazz Composition, University of North Texas
Bachelor’s in Music Education, Western Connecticut State University
Dan O’Brien is a multi-woodwind instrumentalist, improviser, composer and teacher based in the Hartford area. An active professional musician in the fields of jazz and improvised music, he also teaches high school and middle school band, jazz, global & creative music for East Hartford Public Schools. He was named Outstanding Music Educator of the Year in 2025 by the Connecticut Music Educators Association, and has been a presenter and clinician for university teacher preparation programs, professional development initiatives, and student regional jazz ensembles since 2021.
Dan founded the creative music record label, Phonoemulsion Records, in 2021 and has produced 15 albums since then with many more on the way. He performs original compositions and conducted improvisation with his large ensemble project, Dan O’Brien’s Standards of Dysfunction, which features many significant improvisers on the CT, NYC and Boston scenes today - their first album, Standard Deviations, released in 2026. He regularly performs jazz standards and originals at the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, MA with Michael Junkins’ band, JUNK, featuring BSO percussionist Will Hudgins on vibraphone, as well as with the Elm City Big Band and New Haven Jazz Underground. He has performed free jazz and improvised music with many significant musicians in the region, including Joe Morris, Nate Wooley, Sam Newsome, Ben Stapp, Grant Beale, Stephen Haynes, Michael Larocca, Kaelen Ghandhi, Caleb Duval, Luke Rovinsky, Kelly Bray, DoYeon Kim, Nate McBride, Eric Rosenthal, and Jerome Deupree. Dan holds a Bachelor’s in Music Education from Western Connecticut State University, a Master’s in Jazz Composition from the University of North Texas, and post-graduate studies in Contemporary Improvisation from the New England Conservatory of Music.