About Us
Pops 'n Jazz
Hall High School Pops 'n Jazz features more than 100 student performers from the school's Concert Jazz Band, Jazz Band II, Jazz Dancers, Choraliers (singers), Giovani Solisti (string players) and acting program. The program, which varies slightly each night, provides an array of American jazz classics from all eras, performed in big band and combo settings, highly choreographed jazz productions, and featured solo performances. The show offers an eclectic blend of music, ranging from traditional and progressive jazz to pop-rock and Broadway.
Invited guests from the ranks of professional musicians, including several Hall alumni, appear on selected evenings. Participation of guest performers is supported by the Ellen Jeanne Goldfarb Memorial Charitable Trust.
Pops 'n Jazz showcases up-and-coming young talent from King Philip and Bristow middle schools with special performances by the KP Singers, Sixth Dimension, King Philip Jazz Band and Bristow Middle School Jazz Band. Hall Junior Artists, outstanding elementary school musicians from Aiken, Whiting Lane, Bugbee, Norfeldt, Morley, and Smith elementary schools perform on selected evenings.
Pops 'n Jazz is produced by Philip Giampietro, Hall High School director of bands, and Catherine Hopkins, Pops 'n Jazz Co-Director. Direction is by Hall High choir director Stuart Younse, and choreography and musical staging is by Kate Morran and Joseph Fireburg. Costume are directed and produced by Sarah Demos Avery. Technical support is provided from more than 30 students enrolled in Hall’s fine and performing arts programs.
For two weekends in March, Pops 'n Jazz plays to an audience of more than 4,000 over five sold-out performances — plus a senior citizen matinee and a sensory — friendly performance — a West Hartford tradition that has continued to be a source of school and community pride for more than six decades.
Auditions for Hall High School jazz bands, jazz combos, and Choraliers are held in January. Jazz Dancer auditions are held in September.
Jazz Band
For more than six decades, the Hall High School jazz program has enjoyed the reputation as one of the finest and most respected high school jazz programs in the country. Originated in 1958 by former band director William Stanley, Hall was one of the first high schools in the United States to integrate jazz into its daily curriculum. Upon Mr. Stanley’s retirement in 1990, the jazz program continued under the direction of West Hartford’s arts supervisor Haig Shahverdian for 25 years. Following the direction of Haig Shahverdian, John Mastroianni, resident jazz professor at UCONN led the program for nearly a decade. From 2014 to 2024, James Antonucci held the reigns to the Hall Music program, bringing the program to Essentially Ellington four times and winning the Berklee High School Jazz Festival three times. Hall’s director of bands, Phil Giampietro, currently leads the jazz program.
The award-winning Concert Jazz Band — named ”Best High School Big Band” by DownBeat Magazine five consecutive years— has performed for the president at the White House, appeared in the 2000 Ken Burns documentary miniseries, Jazz, and has shared the stage with countless jazz luminaries, including Jimmy Heath, Phil Woods, Wynton Marsalis, Joe Lovano, Randy Brecker, Marvin Stamm, Bob Mintzer, Marcus Printup, Sherman Irby, Chris Crenshaw, Camille Thurman, Dionne Warwick, Kurt Elling, Curtis Fuller, Tatum Greenblatt, and the Count Basie and Woody Herman Orchestras. The jazz ensembles and individual members consistently take top honors at district, state and national music festivals and competitions. The Concert Jazz Band is a fourteen finalist time at the prestigious Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition at Lincoln Center and has repeatedly taken first place honors at the esteemed Berklee High School Jazz Festival. In addition, CJB has been selected at finalists for the Charles Mingus Competition at the New School back to back years, winning Best High School Big Band and Outstanding Brass Section in 2024.
Several notable alumni of the program, including Richie Barshay, Joel Frahm, Brad Mehldau, Jimmy Macbride, Erica von Kleist, Pete McGuinness, Noah Preminger, Gregg Kallor, Pat Zimmerli and Alexa Tarantino, Alita Moses, Marc and Steven Kaplan, Kris Allen, have gone on to careers as first-call jazz musicians while many others have earned prestigious scholarships to the nation’s top universities and conservatories for music and the performing arts.
The Hall High jazz program consists of two full jazz big bands, those being the Concert Jazz Band and Jazz Band II, which meet daily as a part of the academic schedule and three jazz combos which meet in the evenings. Combined, the jazz ensembles perform more than 35 times a year, including five Pop ’n Jazz performances in March and the biennial Eurotour performances in April.
Auditions for Hall High School jazz bands and jazz combos are held in January.
Concert Band
The 150+ member Concert Band at Hall High School is the main curricular component of the instrumental (band) course offerings. Though meeting in three different periods (one of which is dedicated to all freshman band members solely), all the members combine for pep band games, a winter and spring concert, Memorial Day Parade, and a bi-annual trip. The band performs primarily level 4 and 5 symphonic band rep, and has a comprehensive curriculum that includes chamber ensemble music. The main chamber ensemble of the band program is the Wind Ensemble, and performs in a number of concerts in the community besides the spring concert.
The Concert Band was chosen as the showcase ensemble for the CMEA Conference. This was a distinguished honor for a non-selective ensemble, chosen out of many recorded submissions from across the state, first time for Hall bands since 2004! Read our CMEA Showcase Profile.
Eurotour
Taking the Pops ’n Jazz show ‶on the road″ has been a long-standing tradition at Hall High School, and the experiences have touched the hearts of thousands of students during the past five decades! The Pops ’n Jazz cast has traveled to Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, and Belgium. Eurotour has created myriad magical musical moments, indelible memories, and international friendships that will last a lifetime!
The performances in Europe are unlike any in the United States. The venues vary greatly, but always include lovely concert halls rich with history, vibrant in their sound and filled with an enthusiastic audience who shows their appreciation by sustained applause. A performance in a host town in Germany is usually a major event with dignitaries in attendance and is supported by the entire community.
Sometimes concerts are shared with other local jazz ensembles, or a school group. The most incredible and memorable experiences occur when students from both sides of the Atlantic perform together. They may not speak each other′s language, but through the gift of music, they are fluent in the most universal of languages. The contact with families in the host communities makes us all more cognoscente and sensitive to the culture of these countries. There are countless anecdotes with lessons that have been learned through the experience of foreign travel.
The historical and cultural opportunities are many, and each community strives to share the important features of their town. There is a great pride among the people that we visit and they are eager to show us their historical sites and talk about their history and culture. The members of Pops ’n Jazz have also been awe-inspired by experiencing many of the significant cultural and historic sites in Paris, France. The education begins with the musical preparation and continues as each aspect of the trip unfolds. Our students return home with a greater appreciation and understanding of other cultures and the people of Europe.
Faculty:
PHIL GIAMPIETRO
A music educator of “tremendous talent and depth,” Phil Giampietro serves as the Director of Bands at William H. Hall High School (West Hartford, CT) where he oversees two award-winning jazz ensembles, a 100-member Concert Band, and several jazz combos. Mr. Giampietro joined the Hall faculty in 2024. In his past position at Staples High School (Westport, CT), Mr. Giampietro also taught honors-level coursework in music theory and American popular music in addition to directing the concert and jazz bands. He possesses a passionate interest in empowering students to find joy in realizing their authentic selves through the process of making and studying music.
In the first year under his direction, the Hall High School Concert Jazz Band was named Best Big Band and Oustanding Woodwind Section at the 2025 Charles Mingus Competition. The CJB was also selected as a finalist for the 2025 Essentially Ellington competition. They will be a featured ensemble at the 2025 International Womens Brass Conference, hosted by The Hartt School. Previously, the Staples Jazz Ensemble has received accolades from the National Jazz Festival (2nd Place, 2023, Division L1) and the Connecticut Music Educators Association (Showcase Ensemble at the 2022 CMEA conference). In 2023, Mr. Giampietro was nominated for Westport Teacher of the Year. He has been a member of the American School Band Directors Association since 2022.
Mr. Giampietro is an award-winning euphonium player, recently performing as a substitute musician with the West Point Band (US Army). He received First Prize in the International Tuba Euphonium Association’s 2010 Euphonium Artist Competition, and is a three-time semi-finalist in the Leonard Falcone Euphonium Artist Competition. His credits include solos with both the Symphonic Band and Concert Band at Ithaca College, a recital at UMASS Amherst, participation in several ITEA conference recitals, and numerous masterclasses.
Mr. Giampietro holds a Master of Music degree in Euphonium Performance from the University of North Texas, where he studied with world renowned euphonium pedagogue Dr. Brian Bowman. He also holds a dual Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education and Euphonium Performance from Ithaca College.
HAIG SHAHVERDIAN
Haig Shahverdian is a highly-respected music educator with extensive knowledge of jazz ensemble technique, pedagogy, and repertoire. He taught middle school and high school for more than 40 years and was supervisor of fine and performing arts in the West Hartford Public Schools. Down Beat magazine has recognized Shahverdian as an Outstanding Jazz Educator. Under his direction, the Hall High School Concert Jazz Band has been recognized nationally and achieved numerous awards including Down Beat magazine (Outstanding HS Jazz Recording, Outstanding HS Musicians, Outstanding Jazz Combo), multiple Essentially Ellington Competition & Festival first-place awards, and Berklee Jazz Festival (Outstanding Jazz Ensemble and multiple first-place awards and Outstanding Musician awards), and was featured at an IAJE Convention with Wynton Marsalis as guest soloist. The Concert Jazz Band has performed with Phil Woods, Slide Hampton, Randy Brecker, Jimmy Heath, and many other jazz greats. Currently, Shahverdian is on the jazz faculty at Hall High School, and leads the nonprofit foundation, Gifts of Music, which provides instrumental lessons to underserved students.
NATHAN EDWARDS
Nathan Edwards is a graduate of Western Connecticut State University with a degree in Music Education. In addition, he recently completed a Master's degree in Jazz Studies at the Jackie Mclean Institute of Jazz within the Hartt School of Music. Throughout his time performing and studying music he has had the opportunity to perform with jazz icons such as Ron Carter, Jimmy Cobb, Kenny Garrett, Jimmy Heath, Orrin Evans, Lewis Nash, Steve Davis and Jimmy Greene. Although an active performer, Nathan Edwards has established a career in Music Education where he has discovered a passion for teaching and enriching the minds of his students through music and performing. As a founding member of the CMEA Equity and Advocacy Committee, Mr. Edwards has presented at Sacred Heart University and the University of Hartford. He is currently the Director of Bands at King Philip Middle School School in West Hartford.
MATT PARKER
Matt Parker is a New York City-based saxophonist and composer who recently moved his family to the Hartford area. Mentored by Jimmy Cavallo (South Florida saxophone legend) and studied with Gary Cambell, Gary Keller, Junior Mance, Reggie Workman, Mike Karn, and Jane Ira Bloom. Career highlights include: Al Hirt, Pete Fountain, The Mingus Big Band, Cape Town Youth Choir, Bridgett Everett, David Bromberg, Ariana Grande, Phil Woods, Ad-Rock, Dorrance Dance, appeared in and recorded for the blockbuster film John Wick, and two years touring with Maynard Ferguson. Ensembles include: Big Bop Nouveau, Hess Is More, Murray Hill, Post Modern Jukebox, Reggie Watkins, Greg Garing, The Candy Shop Boys, and 2s and 4s. Parker has written and released two records under his name World Put Together (2014) and Present Time (2016), both albums chosen by DownBeat Magazine for their albums of the year. He is the composer and musical director for Hand Forged Fiction and Variety Life Production, Theater companies that concentrate on creating original content. Under the nom de sax Sonny Lauderdale, Parker is a signature artist for PremiumBeat. Parker attended the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music at The New School and is a D'Addario artist.
EVAN GRAY
Evan Gray currently resides in Waterbury and regularly performs in the Tri-State area. Evan has performed at venues such as Dizzy’s Club, Infinity Music Hall, Katherine Hepburn Theater and Daryl’s House. He is a member of the Hartford Jazz Orchestra, Connecticut Transit Authority (Chicago tribute group), Five Metal Chemistry Brass Quintet, and leads his own jazz groups. Evan is also a frequent performer with the New London Big Band, The Other Orchestra, Rob Zappulla Big Band, Stanley Street Big Band and other regional pop groups. In addition to being an active performer, Evan is a music educator. He instructs private trombone lessons and serves as the CMEA Southern Region Middle School Jazz and Flute Choir chairs. Currently, he is a teacher at Lincoln Middle School in Meriden. At Lincoln Middle School, he instructs the band, jazz, and world music programs. He is also the brass instructor for the Maloney High School Marching Band.