Connecticut Summerfest brings together talented emerging composers with some of the country's most inventive chamber music ensembles for a week-long festival of artistic exchange culminating in nine world premieres. The festival provides the Greater Hartford community with contemporary music concerts of the highest caliber through a nightly concert series featuring three ensembles-in-residence and brand-new pieces written by festival composition students. Connecticut Summerfest is proud to amplify voices of composers from historically underrepresented groups, specifically gender diverse composers and composers of color, through our Composition Program and concert programming.
Connecticut Summerfest, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations are tax deductible.
During in-person festival seasons, Connecticut Summerfest was honored to utilize the world-class performance and recording facilities at The Hartt School in West Hartford, CT! The festival hosted its seminars and guest speakers in quality classrooms in the Alfred C. Fuller Music Center. Concerts and recording sessions took place in Berkman Recital Hall, an outstanding venue for chamber music.
Kinsmen Sound Studio recording Hub New Music in Berkman Recital Hall at Connecticut Summerfest 2023
Participants of Connecticut Summerfest were housed in North Hall on the University of Saint Joseph campus for the duration of the festival. North Hall is a modern dormitory that not only provides sleeping space, but also study rooms and casual hangout areas. All meals were provided to participants throughout the festival on-campus at the University of Hartford.
North Hall, University of Saint Joseph
Our 2020 concert series was originally scheduled to be during our fifth anniversary festival back in June 2020, and we chose to postpone our series in order to enable our ensemble and staff members to attend Black Lives Matter protests, educate ourselves about anti-oppression and equity, and take critical steps to ensure a future of inclusion at Connecticut Summerfest. We hope that during this time, you also have been listening, learning, and engaging in the fight for equality, both in the arts and beyond! Please see the below resources for more information and to learn more about anti-racism and music.
Music by Black Composers
Anti-Racism Resources
A Seat at the Piano
Trilloquy
Relative Pitch
School Colors
Code Switch
Connecticut Summerfest extends our thanks to The Hartt School for their support.
