Our Musicians

The musicians of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra bring the beauty of music to life- whether it is in Belding Theater at a Masterworks concert, in schools and in the community, or at the Talcott Mountain Music Festival. Each musician is dedicated to their craft and is continually providing exceptional performances. Here, you will get to know some of the musicians who make up this incredible orchestra!

Meet Sangwon Lee

Sangwon Lee has performed with orchestras all over New England, which include the Boston Philharmonic, Berkshire Opera Festival, Vermont Symphony, Dartmouth Symphony, New Bedford Symphony, Symphony New Hampshire, etc. As a chamber musician, Sangwon has shared the stage with the late Peter Serkin – performing the Beethoven and the Mozart Quintets for Piano with Winds in multiple performances in 2018.

Position

Principal Clarinet

Started with the HSO

2023

Fun Facts!

Get to know Sangwon outside of the concert hall!

In his spare time Sangwon loves watching Seinfeld reruns, and filming videos for his growing YouTube channel- some videos have up to 73k views!  Check out his Channel!

Sangwon’s wife, Taylor, is also a clarinetist. Taylor joined the United States Coast Guard Band just before Sangwon joined the Hartford Symphony. Sangwon had a chance to perform with the band recently. “It’s not super often that Taylor and I perform in a large ensemble together. So I am always grateful for the times we get to share the stage,” he said.

I have fond memories of traveling with my family. We’ve been to many different places in Europe in particular. But a highlight was the eastern part of Korea (Seoul is in the western part); on a hike, we stumbled upon a temple with the same name as mine! I enjoy the exploration. You never know what you’re going to find!

Favorite HSO Memory

When asked what his favorite HSO memory was, Sangwon said:

“As a part of my audition process for the HSO, I had to play a week of rehearsals and concerts as a trial (to see how well one fits in, etc). The major piece of the concert was the Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz. This piece has so many special moments that involve the clarinet. I feel like I improved a great deal preparing for this week. I had so much fun performing the piece!“

This season, I am looking forward to…

“(This week) We are playing the 13 instrument version of Copland’s Appalachian Spring. I’ve always loved this piece. But more recently, in 2021, it was the first orchestral piece I performed as live concerts were coming back from the covid shutdown. It was special then, it is special now. Not only are we playing the more intimate 13 instrument version (as opposed to the full orchestral arrangement), I get to perform it with a long time friend and colleague, Dominique (flute). Fun fact, she was the flutist in that 2021 performance!”

Jarrod Briley joined the Hartford Symphony Orchestra as Principal Tuba for his first season in 2022. A native of Beaufort, North Carolina, he began as a trumpet player at age 11 and switched to the tuba at age 15. Jarrod attended East Carolina University, earning a B.M. in Music Performance in 2018. He then attended Bard College for an Artist Diploma before joining The Orchestra Now, an orchestral training master’s program at Bard College, earning a M.M. in Critical, Curatorial, and Performance Studies.