Meet the
Current Studio
Feel free to contact the studio members directly by clicking the little envelopes next to their names. To contact any alumni, please view the alumni page.
Hannah Hickman
DMA Saxophone Performance
Hannah Hickman is a saxophonist and music educator based in Hartford, Connecticut. She has presented and performed for organizations across the country including the Music for All Summer Symposium, North American Saxophone Alliance, and the Iowa Bandmasters Association. In 2017, she was named a Yamaha Young Performing Artist. Hannah is passionate about commissioning new music and increasing accessibility to music education. Hannah has worked with students of all ages in public schools and private lesson settings. In 2020 she founded KeySpark (keysparkmusic.com), an online platform that provides curated classes and learning resources for 7th-12th grade saxophonists. Hannah holds degrees in music education and saxophone performance from the Univ. of Minnesota, Univ. of Michigan, and Univ. of Missouri-Kansas City. She is currently a doctoral student at The Hartt School, where she studies with Carrie Koffman. Her previous teachers are Zach Shemon, Timothy McAllister, Preston Duncan, and Eugene Rousseau.
Scott Brown
DMA Saxophone Performance
Originally from Atlanta, Scott Brown is an emerging saxophonist and educator now based in Hartford, Connecticut. A proponent of new music, he has collaborated with several composers, leading to several new works for saxophone. Scott has also competed in and won multiple competitions, with notable achievements including being the 2022 MTNA Young Artist Florida Winner, 2020-2021 UGA Concerto Competition Winner, and a Semi-Finalist in the Fernande Decruck International Competition.
Since 2017, Scott has been teaching private lessons, masterclasses, and clinics to public school and university programs nationwide. At FSU, he worked as a graduate teaching assistant for the saxophone studio and taught courses in chamber music, woodwind methods, and applied lessons.
Scott holds degrees in saxophone performance from the University of Georgia and Florida State University where he studied with Geoff Deibel, Connie Frigo and Dave D’Angelo. He is currently a doctoral candidate at the Hartt School studying under Carrie Koffman.
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Artist Diploma: Saxophone Performance
Growing up in North Texas, versatile saxophonist Rob Brown gained an appreciation for music from a young age. Armed with his passion for music, Rob aims to realize not only his musical dreams, but also the dreams of his peers and students.
As a professional saxophonist, Robert has been involved largely in the creation of new music from living composers. In 2022, Rob worked with both CNSNC and The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center on The Ocean’s Cry, a series of pieces written for piano, percussion, and saxophone that focus on ocean preservation.
Over the course of his career, Robert has studied primarily with Gary Louie and Donald J. Fabian, and he currently attends graduate school at The Hartt School under the instruction of Professor Carrie Koffman.
Robert Brown
MM Saxophone Performance
Benjamin Levesque is a saxophonist and educator based in his hometown of Windsor, Connecticut. Benjamin recently graduated from the University of Connecticut with a B.M in Saxophone Performance and will be attending the Hartt School of Music to pursue a M.M. in Saxophone Performance. Benjamin has been a member of the UConn Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble, as well as the Rhombus Saxophone Quartet and the UConn Saxophone Quartet. Benjamin has a passion for teaching, and has coached the Rhombus Quartet as well as teaching private lessons for students ranging from the beginner to collegiate level. He has recently been named the undergraduate winner of the 2022 UConn Concerto Competition, and performed Andre Waignein's "Rhapsody for Alto Saxophone" with the UConn Symphony Orchestra. Previously, Benjamin has studied with Kendra Emery, Dr. Colette Hall, Paul Evoskovich, and Greg Case.
Benjamin Levesque
Evan Blitzer
MM Saxophone Performance
Evan Blitzer is a Saxophonist from Tampa, Florida. Evan is a current graduate student at The Hartt School under the instruction of Carrie Koffman. Previously, he studied with Dr. Geoffrey Deibel at Florida State University and earned his B.M. in Saxophone Performance and a minor in Political Science.
While at Florida State, Evan participated in various ensembles including the Florida State Wind Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Saxophone Orchestra, and EDJE Quartet. He has also collaborated with various ensembles to help composition students premiere new works. Evan strives to continue to collaborate to develop new voices in music.
Ashtyn Wolph
MM Saxophone Performance, Music Composition
Ashtyn Wolph (b. 2002) is a saxophonist, composer, and educator based in Hartford, Connecticut. Growing up participating in as many musical activities as possible, she spends her time finding any opportunity to blend her passions for performing, writing, teaching, and theatre. Ashtyn has been a member of Heidelberg University’s Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, Single Reed Ensemble, Concert Choir, and Chamber Singers. She was a finalist in the 2023 Perrysburg Symphony Concerto Contest and winner of the Heidelberg Ars Nova Composition Award, New Third Space Ensemble Call for Scores, and the 2022 Vandoren “With You Every Step” Video Campaign Selection. Ashtyn has taught various ensembles and private lessons ranging from beginning band to high school saxophonists to collegiate theatre. She seeks to use her compositions to explore the wonders of natural phenomena.
Ashtyn is originally from Fostoria, Ohio, and holds a degree in music education with a minor in theatre from Heidelberg University. She has studied saxophone under Joshua Heaney, Garrett Evans, and Carrie Koffman and studied composition under Doug McConnel, Matthew Kennedy, and Gilda Lyons. She is a current M.M. student at the Hartt School studying saxophone performance and composition. Ashtyn is the current recipient of the Hartt School Time and Space Fellowship.
BM Music Education
Dakota Jones is a saxophonist from the Central Maine area and grew up on her family’s small farm in Brooks, which has a population of less than 1200 people. Dakota has always appreciated the arts and has been a musician since she was eight years old, with piano as her primary instrument until she began to learn the saxophone in high school. Dakota has immersed herself in many of her high school’s musical ensembles such as Concert Band, Chamber Singers, Jazz Band, Pep Band, and various Honor Festivals including the Maine All-State Band. She enjoys teaching her peers about music and how to play saxophone while sharing her passion and connecting with other musicians. She will be an undergraduate student pursuing a B.M. in Music Education under the instruction of Carrie Koffman.
While she is at Hartt, Dakota is excited to explore the world of classical saxophone and to perform with other saxophonists while preparing to become an educator.
Dakota Jones
MICHAEL DUBLER
BM Acoustical Engineering, Music
Michael Dubler is a saxophonist from Burlington County in South Jersey. He is currently an undergraduate in both the Hartt and CETA school for Acoustical Engineering. Michael has had a love for the performing arts as well as math and science for as long as he can remember. While starting originally on clarinet in the fifth grade, Michael decided to learn the saxophone in seventh grade to be able to play more varieties of music. Michael has played in many musical groups such as Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, Pit Orchestras, and other smaller chamber groups on both clarinet and saxophone.
Ronitt Dhalliwal
BM Music Education
Ronitt Dhalliwal is a saxophonist from Central Massachusetts. Ronitt fell in love with music and teaching during high school and now wishes to pursue his passions at the University of Hartford. Ronitt was an active musician in his town partaking in multiple ensembles such as Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, Pep Band, and multiple Choir Groups. Ronitt also participated in the Massachusetts All-State Wind Ensemble and competed in the New England Saxophone Symposium at UMass Amherst. He gained a passion for teaching his peers, and younger students participating and creating multiple education groups to further the arts in his town. Ronitt is very excited to pursue a B.M. in Music Education under the instruction of Carrie Koffman.
Alyssa Attenello
BM Saxophone Performance, Music Education
Aly Attenello is a saxophonist from South Windsor, Connecticut. She is currently an undergraduate at The Hartt School, pursuing a degree in Saxophone Performance & Music Education. She began her musical journey in third grade, learning the saxophone from her dad. Throughout high school, Aly performed in her school’s Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, as well as the Greater Hartford Youth Wind Ensemble. Her performance experience also includes events such as Connecticut Eastern Regionals, All-State, and the New England Music Festival Association. Passionate about both performance and education, she looks forward to furthering her saxophone instruction at Hartt.
