Richard P. Garmany Concert Series

Since its founding in 2009, The Garmany Chamber Music Series (now the Garmany Concert Series) has established itself as one of The Hartt School's signature activities. The series is recognized as one of Connecticut's premier live music attractions, presenting four concerts annually, and is dedicated to bringing the widest possible range of distinguished small ensembles and recitalists to the UHart campus. The series is generously supported by the Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.

The series has routinely played to capacity houses in Hartt's Millard Auditorium, and has attracted national attention for the quality and diversity of its offerings. One critic hailed the series as a "who's who of American chamber music." 

The founding curator of the concert series, Steve Metcalf, oversaw the series for the first seven seasons. The series was then passed to Larry Alan Smith, who took the reins in 2016 and held them until his retirement at the end of the 2021 academic year. In 2022, Steve stepped into the role of curator for the series and was joined by Hartt faculty member Gilda Lyons, who served as executive director. For the 2025-26 series, the reins were then passed from Steve to Gilda, who is now the artistic and executive director, while Steve is the artistic advisor for the season.

The 2025-26 Garmany Concert Series tickets are now available!

2025-2026 Garmany Concert Series

All concerts will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Millard Auditorium.  

October 9, 2025—Verona Quartet Featuring Saxophonist Steven Banks, Performing a New Piece by Grammy-Nominated Composer Christopher Theofanidis

The series will welcome the Verona Quartet with saxophonist Steven Banks. Banks, who has quickly come to be regarded as one of the foremost saxophone soloists in the world, is a former Jackie McLean Fellow and Hartt adjunct faculty member. In addition to music by Debussy, Mozart and others, the program will feature the New England premiere of a major new piece for saxophone and string quartet by the distinguished American composer Christopher Theofanidis. 

 

October 23, 2025—CONCORA - Connecticut Choral Artists & Baroklyn String Ensemble

The second fall performance will feature CONCORA - Connecticut Choral Artists & Baroklyn String Ensemble, conducted from the keyboard by Grammy-nominated pianist Simone Dinnerstein, in a concert of music by J.S. Bach. This concert is part of a monumental multi-site 11-year project to perform every known work of Bach, conceived and executed by Music Worcester and its artistic director, Chris Shepard, who also holds that position with CONCORA.

February 19, 2026—Duo YUMENO

The series will welcome the koto and cello artists of Duo YUMENO. The duo collaborates to perform traditional & contemporary works exploring the dialogue between classical Japanese and western music. Offering cross-cultural programs since 2008, the duo performs regularly to sold-out houses in the U.S. and Japan in venues that have included Aoyama Music Memorial Hall (Kyoto), Carnegie Hall, Japan Society, John F Kennedy Center, Myōnichi-kan Auditorium (Tokyo), Tokyo National Museum, and the United Nations.

 photo credit: Robert Essel

April 2, 2026—The Dalí Quartet

The Dalí Quartet will perform Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 13 and works by Astor Piazzolla, Silvestre Revueltas, and Sonia Morales. Named Chamber Music America's 2024 Ensemble of the Year and

devoted to reaching communities of all kinds, the Dalí Quartet is acclaimed for bringing Latin American quartet repertoire to an equal standing alongside the Classical and Romantic canon.

photo credit: Ryan Brandenberg

Past Garmany Series