Joseph Hahn, a native of Farmington Connecticut has been passionate about music ever since he picked up his first trumpet in fifth grade, though it wasn’t until attending Farmington High School that he really hit his stride. While attending FHS he received many honors, he was the lead trumpet player in the CT Northern Regional jazz band, principal in the band, and was assistant principal of the All-State orchestra. In 2008 the FHS Wind Ensemble was selected to perform at Carnegie Hall where Joseph performed as principal trumpet. While attending FHS Joseph was accepted into the Hartt Community Division where he performed with the Greater Hartford Youth Wind Ensemble and the Connecticut Youth Symphony. In the summer 2008 GHYWE toured Austria and Germany providing a performance in the famous Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna. In addition to performing ensembles, Joseph also took lessons through the Community Division with Peter Roe.
Upon graduating Joseph was accepted into The Hartt School’s double major for Trumpet Performance and Music Education with a performing arts scholarship. He promptly began studying with Kevin Cobb of the American Brass Quintet, Jay Lichtmann of the Hartford Symphony, and later Greg Whitaker, an accomplished player and teacher from the Boston area. As a performer at Hartt Joseph has excelled as he quickly became a rotating Principal trumpet in Hartt’s Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble. Additional performance experience has come from playing musicals, various brass chamber groups, and performing with Hartt’s Symphony Band, Brass Ensemble, and Big Band.
Joseph places much of his passion into orchestral playing and it has shown in notable performances of his at the Hartt School. He has performed as principal trumpet on masterpieces like Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra, Sibelius’ 2nd Symphony, and Janacek’s SInfonietta. Joseph has also performed in Mahler’s 2nd Symphony, Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben, and Ravel’s La Valse.
Joseph is also an accomplished chamber musician as well. In 2009 he and three classmates formed the Brioso Brass Quartet, a chamber group hell bent on proving that the brass quartet is a viable ensemble. The BBQ made it to the final round of the chamber music competition at the Uconn Brass Festival in 2011 and has performed all around the Greater Hartford Area. Perhaps the most notable accomplishment of the quartet was commissioning the first ever concerto for brass quartet and wind ensemble in 2010 by UK composer Robin Langdon. This entirely original work shows off the virtuosity and technical abilities of all four players in all four of its movements.
Outside of Hartt Joseph was appointed to the third/assistant principal chair of the West Hartford Symphony Orchestra in the summer of 2012 and continues to hold that position. Joseph has also performed with the Manchester Symphony Orchestra, Farmington Valley Symphony, Nutmeg Symphony, Bristol Brass and Wind Ensemble and The Other Orchestra.
Outside of music Joseph enjoys spending his free time playing video games, running, biking, reading fiction novels and watching trashy reality TV.