About Anhared Stowe
Founder, Artistic Director, and Violinist of the New World Trio, Anhared (Ann) Stowe has spent a lifetime in music as a chamber musician, teacher, Hartford Symphony Orchestra section leader, and a soloist. As a soloist and recitalist, Ms. Stowe has performed with orchestras up and down the east coast and midwest. She has recorded works on the Opus One Label, as well as non-classical music on other labels in the UK. More recently, Ms. Stowe was heard on NPR’s Morning Edition, accompanying the poet Edgar Silex with works of her own composition.

Ann started with the violin while she was in grade school and was made Concertmistress of the Florida All-State Orchestra as a sophomore. That year, she also became a member of what is now the Sarasota Symphony Orchestra and soloed with SSO. While she initially toyed with the idea of scientific research as her future occupation, it soon became apparent that Ann was going to pursue classical music as a profession, and she relocated to New York City to continue her studies at the Juilliard School. Despite her recognized talent, her rather austere Pennsylvania Dutch Brethren family looked upon the idea of her going to New York in preparation for a life as a professional musician with deep misgivings. “I had to struggle more than a bit to get them to accept the idea.” While at Juilliard, Ann worked with members of the Juilliard String Quartet and, after graduating, continued to pursue her passion for chamber music, working with groups such as the Hungarian and Guarneri String Quartets, and the Albeneri Trio. Following stints in the Sioux City and Sioux Falls Symphonies as concertmaster, and the Omaha and Des Moines Symphonies in the first violin section, Ann came to Hartford to continue studying violin with Charles Treger, and received her Master of Music Degree from The Hartt School soon after joining the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. At Hartt, she was concertmistress of the orchestra and honored with an assistantship to be part of the Graduate String Quartet and Trio.
Ann joined the Hartford Symphony Orchestra in 1971, a period when the symphony was transitioning from its community orchestra roots into a dedicated, fully professional ensemble under Arthur Winograd. Times were different then. “In some ways, Arthur was an old-school taskmaster,” recalls Ann, “and I suppose I should have been flattered when he told me that I ‘played like a man.’” Ms. Stowe began her career with HSO in the first violin section, and became Principal Second Violin in 1979, performing solos in that capacity. Ann became the first HSO musician to be honored with an endowed chair. She remained with the orchestra for forty-six years, retiring in 2017.

During her time as Artistic Director for New World, Ann has built the ensemble into a substantial presence in New England, with the group having been in-residence at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts and the Hartt School. The trio has been in existence for 35 years: “Hartford’s one reliable source of chamber music.”, says the Hartford Courant. Under her tenure, New World Trio also became known for its innovative combination of recognized repertoire and engaging modern compositions. While at Hartt, for example, NWT premiered pieces by the Hartt composition faculty, including composers Stephen Gryc, David Macbride, Robert Carl, Larry Allen Smith, and Alexander Lepak, as well as holding annual competitions for student composers to premier their works. Over the years New World has commissioned fifteen composers and performed well over one hundred 20th and 21st century works. At the Bushnell, two separate music series were supported there in addition to other performances throughout the region as part of the New England Touring Roster. Recognition of her efforts to bring the best of modern composition have been recognized by several organizations:
“…[New World Trio] has been an exemplar…it has been musically courageous,” says Chamber Music America. Ann’s thoughtful programming, and thematic combinations produced well-received, musically compelling programs; as a result, significant foundation and institutional support for NWT followed, and by the close of her tenure there, New World had become Connecticut’s premier home-grown chamber music ensemble with support from the Roberts Foundation, Greater Hartford Arts Council, the Long Foundation, Ensworth Foundation, and Helen M. Saunders Foundation. Critical acclaim followed as well: “… the three musicians of the New World combined together as one sound, potent and delectable”. -Hartford Courant review. With the group well established, Anhared took a hiatus from the trio, concentrating on projects such as her collaborations with noted pianist (and multiple competition winner) Larry Graham. Ms. Stowe was subsequently asked by NWT’s board to resume her role as Artistic Director, and she has been again guiding the trio for the past six years.

Throughout her performing career, Ann has also been a passionate advocate of personal music instruction, and she has taught students for more than four decades. She feels strongly that taking part in a young person’s growth and development provides a lasting sense of reward and relationship, noting that all fine musicians have been the product of close, personal teaching. “I have had the privilege of instructing entire families and am currently giving lessons to a young man who is the son of a former student.” Ann has also served as adjunct faculty for a number of the area’s preparatory schools. Many of Ann’s students have been accepted into the Regional [as concertmaster] and All-State Orchestras, the Connecticut Youth Symphony, and have gone on to win scholarships for schools of higher education.

Ann lives in Hartford’s West End, where she also volunteer-tutored students in reading at Noah Webster and Betances Schools for two decades. Now a grandmother, Ann is currently focused on her two young granddaughters. She says laughingly, “These days, they are tutoring me!”