A Teacher Is Mourned
A music professor at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School dies unexpectedly.
David Macbride, a longtime professor at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School, a composer and a community builder was found dead Friday morning, a Hartt dean said Saturday.
Macbride, 66, lived in Bloomfield and taught for decades at the Hartt School, which he had attended as a student, according to Dean Larry Alan Smith. Macbride was a professor of composition and musical theory, and he wrote numerous works, ranging from solo, chamber and orchestral music to music for film, TV, dance and theater, with an emphasis on percus- sion, according to his biography on the school website.
Smith said that he had few details on Macbride’s unexpected death, but that he received a call from one of Macbride’s family members Saturday morning notifying him of the death.
“When we lose a great composer, I guess
what we turn to are the memories of the person, we also have the music that we can look at and listen to,” Smith said Saturday afternoon. “David will be leaving us lots and lots of music.”
Macbride will be remembered as a gentle, grounded and genuine person, Smith said. Macbride was known internationally for his musical work, but in the Hartford area he was a community builder and very involved in the school, he said.
“Such a gentle person and a loving person, his demeanor drew those words out of people,” Smith said.
Macbride grew up in Berkley, Calif., attended the University of Hartford, and then earned his doctorate at Columbia University in New York City. He has taught composers in addition to creating his own work, Smith said.
His compositions have been performed in the U.S. and abroad.
Macbride’s community-building efforts reached to Elizabeth Park, Smith said, where he hosted various events.
“He loved to get people together and create pieces that would build a sense of community,” Smith said. “He just had a knack of bringing people together and using his music in order to do that. It actually was really powerful.”
Macbride was respected among staff and students, Smith said, and his loss will be tough for the school community.
Macbride is survived by two adult children, Jimmy Macbride of New York City and Alma Macbride of Cambridge, Mass. Services have not been announced, though the school community will hold a moment of silence Saturday night in honor of Macbride’s unexpected death. A tribute at the school has not been organized yet.
“He had quite a life,” Smith said. “I just wish there had been a lot more of it.”