Students attended “Beethoven by the Rivers,” a concert by the Hartford Symphony at Belding Theater at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts on April 16. 

The trip was organized by Max Salzinger ’25, who worked together with the co-heads of Song for Smiles, Boffi Lin ’24 and Clara Ma ’23, and Mrs. Wistar, director of student activities and clubs. Salzinger ’25 said, “The goal of the trip was to give students who are unable to travel home [for the long Spring Weekend] an opportunity to come together and listen to a major professional orchestra live.” 

The Hartford Symphony was founded in 1934, and the 2022-2023 year marks the orchestra’s 79th season. It is the second largest orchestra in New England and has performed in some of the most prestigious conference halls around the world. Each year it presents more than 100 concerts of classical, contemporary, and pop music. 

The Symphony will play pieces from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in concert on April 29 and music from ABBA in July. Twelve students across different music courses attended the performance over Long Spring Weekend with Dr. Larson, instructor in philosophy and religion. The Hartford Symphony performed Smetana’s Vltava (The Moldau), Xinghai’s The Yellow River Piano Concerto and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, “Pastorale.” 

The concert was conducted by The Hartford Symphony Musical Director, Carolyn Kuan, and featured guest pianist, Jie Chen. Salzinger ’25 said, “Ms. Kuan made conducting at such a high level seem easy. All the pieces were stellar. Moldau was incredibly flowy and graceful, while the Xinhai piano concerto opened my eyes to a new style of music. The Beethoven concerto had a very peaceful and calming effect on me, as I’ve listened to the beautiful melody since I was a little kid.”