UHart's Career Exploration Day gave students at The Hartt School an opportunity to hear first-hand how a career in the arts can evolve beyond the classroom, as alumni Steve Collins ’89 and Mariel Christiana ’22 shared their professional journeys, insights, and advice for navigating life after graduation.
Collins, president and CEO of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra (HSO), and Christiana, corporate and foundations relations manager at HSO, spoke with Hartt students from professor Marcus Thomas’s Entertainment Law class and Jamie Coletta’s Introduction to Arts Management class. Coletta is also a Hartt alumna, and served as a moderator for the discussion.
Both speakers are graduates of The Hartt School. Christiana earned her degree in flute performance in 2022, while Collins graduated in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in music, majoring in percussion performance. Collins also serves on the Board of Trustees of The Julius Hartt Musical Foundation, Inc.
During the discussion, Collins and Christiana reflected on how their experiences as Hartt students shaped their careers and helped them discover new opportunities within the arts community. As Coletta noted, the speakers “shared a lot about the roles and functions with the arts community, so that arts can continue to exist and thrive.”
Their stories offered students a glimpse into the many career paths available to musicians and arts professionals, while highlighting the importance of remaining open to new possibilities, continuing to learn, and building meaningful professional relationships.
For Christiana, the transition from instrumental performance to arts management came from a desire to broaden her horizons and explore other ways to contribute to the arts. After graduating from Hartt, she began her career at Primo, an international artist management organization, before moving into development work at HSO. Her experience as a musician continues to inform her work, particularly when it comes to problem-solving. She credited her musical training with helping her develop the grit and discipline needed to succeed in arts management, demonstrating how skills cultivated through performance can translate into a wide range of professional settings.
Looking back on her time at Hartt, she also reflected on the importance of building relationships. Although she worked hard to develop her skills, she said she sometimes wishes she had expanded and deepened her connections while she was a student. Today, she regularly interacts with people throughout the arts community, including former Hartt classmates and professors.
Collins’s professional journey also illustrates how a career in the arts can take unexpected turns. For the first 15 years after graduating from Hartt, he worked in performance and teaching throughout the tri-state area. Over time, he became increasingly involved in educational programs and projects, gradually transitioning into orchestra management and key leadership roles in the industry.
He has spent the past 12 years at HSO, where he has found his work especially rewarding. Yet Collins acknowledged that becoming president and CEO of the organization was not something he would have envisioned when he graduated from Hartt.
His journey reflects the value of remaining curious, embracing new opportunities, and continuing to invest in oneself. As he emphasized to students, graduation does not mark the end of learning; rather, professional growth requires an ongoing willingness to develop new skills and adapt to changing opportunities.
Collins also echoed Christiana’s emphasis on relationship building as another important contributor to his success. He encouraged students to recognize the value of the community around them, underscoring that Hartt’s students and faculty can be important resources throughout their professional lives.
Throughout the discussion, both speakers emphasized the importance of gaining practical experience and exploring professional opportunities before graduation. They agreed that internships are particularly valuable for helping students understand the field, develop skills, and establish connections. HSO offers internship opportunities, including placements in which Hartt students have participated.
Their advice reinforced a central message of Career Exploration Day: a successful career in the arts is not necessarily a straight line from graduation to a single destination. Instead, it can develop through a combination of persistence, adaptability, lifelong learning, and relationships.
By sharing their experiences, Collins and Christiana encouraged students to think broadly about what life after Hartt might look like and to consider the many ways they can continue contributing to the arts, something that is also reinforced through many of the coursework and faculty’s advice. Their journeys also demonstrated that the education students receive at Hartt extends beyond technical and artistic training, providing a foundation for careers that help the arts community continue to grow and thrive.