The Julius Hartt Musical Foundation, INC. Board of Trustees Names New Members
The Julius Hartt Musical Foundation, Inc. recently elected the following new members to its Board of Trustees: Steve Collins, Harold Horwich, Calida Jones M’07, Andrew Mayo M’97, Scott Reeves ’76, Jonathan Reuning-Scherer, and John Sunde.
The Board of Trustees of the Julius Hartt Musical Foundation, Inc. works to develop and maintain the professional quality of the University of Hartford’s The Hartt School. The Board financially supports the School and acts as an advocate for the School’s interests.
“As the 100th anniversary of The Hartt School approaches, the involvement of our trustees is vitally important. These new trustees will join with the entire Hartt community in laying the groundwork for the next 100 years,” said Larry Alan Smith, dean of The Hartt School.
Steve Collins ’89, executive director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, is driven by a deep belief in the transformative power of great music. He has served as a champion of artistic development, working with HSO Music Director Carolyn Kuan to infuse performances with digital media content, engage audiences in imaginative ways, and create opportunities for community collaboration.
Collins is the 2014 Elizabeth L. Mahaffey Arts Administration Fellow. He enjoys performing as a percussionist with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Greater Bridgeport Symphony Orchestras, Goodspeed Musicals, and varied chamber ensembles across the tristate area.
Steve holds a bachelor's degree in Music from The Hartt School.
Harold S. Horwich is a partner with the law firm Morgan Lewis and represents state insurance regulators and policyholder and creditor groups. He holds the designation of Certified Insurance Receiver—Multiline Insurers from the International Association of Insurance Receivers.
Horwich has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for his work in insurance law; bankruptcy, insolvency, and reorganization law; and bankruptcy litigation. Hal is a certified arbitrator with ARIAS US and chairman of the Connecticut Insurance Commissioner’s Task Force on Insurance Company Runoff and Reorganization.
Hal is admitted to the bar in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York. He is a graduate of Brown University and Boston University School of Law.
Calida Jones M’07 is an accomplished musician, social justice advocate, and educator who has taught and performed all over the world. She is passionate about intentional, purposeful teaching and community engagement, and is committed to correlating the art of teaching to life skills and community building. Calida independently consults with organizations across the country and has been a speaker at the Yale School of Music, Duke University, Ravinia, the Connecticut State Capitol, The Hartt School, and a Tedx speaker in San Jose, Calif.
Jones serves on the Board of El Sistema USA and chairs its Racial Diversity and Cultural Understanding Committee. She also serves on the board of the Connecticut Arts Alliance. Jones has been honored with a scholar fellowship at the Aspen Festival of Ideas, The Elizabeth Mahaffey Fellowship, a Grammy nomination for the Music Educator Excellence Award, the Father Thomas H. Dwyer Humanitarian Award (for her work in Waterbury, Connecticut), and the 2018 Connecticut Arts Hero Award.
Jones is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania and received her master’s degree in Violin Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy from The Hartt School.
Andrew Mayo M’97 is a teacher and the supervisor for the Department of Fine and Performing Arts in the West Hartford Public Schools. He was named West Hartford Teacher of the Year in 2008. Mayo is also an avid songwriter and composer who has written a mix of classical, pop, rock, and folk music including soundtracks for children’s radio and TV. Mayo premiered pieces on the stage of the Bushnell and has written for the Inter-Elementary Orchestra. He also composes musicals, and his current project is Dreams and Compromises, a rock and pop musical that uses recitative instead of dialogue.
Mayo’s first connection with Hartt was taking Suzuki Violin lessons as a child. He later played band instruments in the weekend ensembles in middle school and high school. Mayo returned to Hartt to pursue a master’s degree in Music Education. His children attended the Hartt Community Division.
Andrew received a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, a certificate in Jazz and Popular Music Performance from the Hartford Conservatory, a master’s degree from The Hartt School, and a Sixth-Year Certificate in Educational Leadership from Central Connecticut State University.
Andrew lives in Hartford with his wife and three children.
Scott Reeves ’76 has been an English teacher at the Westminster School in Simsbury, Connecticut, for 32 years and is also the school’s archivist. A lover of literature, a technology expert, a guitarist, and a countertenor, he has performed as a soloist and as a member of ensembles and various choral groups. Reeves is a founding member of the Woodland Scholars and of Collegium, a small ensemble dedicated to the performance of sacred, Renaissance music.
He earned his bachelor’s at The Hartt School, and resides with his wife, soprano Joanne Scattergood, in Simsbury, Conn..
Jonathan Reuning-Scherer is a senior lecturer in statistics at Yale University. He also serves as director of music at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Hartford. For many years, Reuning-Scherer led GodSong, a Greater Hartford ecumenical choir dedicated to the performance of great choral music in a worship context.
He produced and directed yearly musicals for the Montessori School of Greater Hartford, and was assistant music director for the West Hartford Summer Arts Festival (SAF). Reuning-Scherer is now the musical director of SAF. He frequently accompanies area choirs, including those at West Hartford’s Bristow Middle School and Conard High School.
Reuning-Scherer holds degrees in piano performance from the Oberlin Conservatory with a minor in horn, a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Oberlin College, a master’s degree in choral conducting from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, and a master’s and a PhD in statistics from Yale University.
Reuning-Scherer resides in West Hartford with his wife, Julie, and their two children—both of whom studied at the Hartt Community Division.
John Sunde, interim president and CEO of Saint Francis Healthcare Partners, has a lifelong love of music and music performance, and has played guitar since the age of 8. He studied classical and pop/rock guitar and has recently been playing at open mics, often accompanied by his twin sons and daughter.
Sunde is a longtime resident of West Hartford with close ties to the University of Hartford, The Hartt School, and the Hartt Community Division. He previously served as a UHart regent and as a member of the Julius Hartt Musical Foundation, Inc. Board of Trustees. Sunde and his family—including his wife, Coreen, and their children—have studied at the Community Division for a combined 41 years.
Sunde is a graduate of Wabash College and received a graduate degree in health administration from The George Washington University.