About Azul

Eugenio Figueroa

Eugenio Figueroa is a registered Suzuki teacher in Violin, Viola, and Piano with the Suzuki Association of the Americas. Currently serves as faculty at The Hartt Community Division and the Music School at Sound Crossing. As a violist, Eugenio is pursuing his DMA in The Hartt School Viola Performance under Rita Porfiris. Prior to moving to Connecticut, he received his Bachelor of Music degree in Viola Performance from the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico where he also taught at the Pre-College division and at the first-ever Suzuki School in Puerto Rico Kids and Musik. Eugenio Figueroa has performed with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Bayamón and the Orquesta Filarmonica Arturo Somohano. He has had the honor of performing with the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Santo Domingo and traveled to Iceland with the contemporary chamber ensemble, “Foot in the Door” in 2015. Currently serves as a rotating principal at the Hartt School Symphony Orchestra.

Pablo Issa

Pablo Issa performs chamber music internationally. He serves as the principal cellist of the Hartford Independent Chamber Orchestra and he is also one of the co-founders of 1200 HorseHairs, a cello quartet. Mr. Issa has taught throughout New England and in summer institutes in the United States, South America and Europe. Currently, he teaches Suzuki and traditional cello at The Hartt School Community Division.

Janet Jacobson

Janet Jacobson is a versatile violinist who has built a reputation in the New England area performing in orchestras, chamber ensembles, and as a soloist. She has premiered works by David Macbride, Ken Steen, Erberk Eryilmaz, Ryan Jesperson, and many others. Jacobson is concertmaster of Hartford Independent Chamber Orchestra. As a soloist she performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in Plymouth, NH, and the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Stara Zagora State Opera Orchestra in Stara, Zagora, Bulgaria. Jacobson earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The Hartt School, where she studied with Katie Lansdale and holds a master's degree from The Boston Conservatory. She has taught violin, viola, and chamber music at HCD since 2009.

Sarah Washburn

Sarah Washburn is an active chamber and orchestral musician and a dedicated teacher to students of all ages. She is a founding member of both the Azul String Quartet, and the West End String Quartet, and has performed with Hartford Independent Chamber Orchestra. As a chamber artist, she has performed at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, SoundFest on Cape Cod, at Hartford New Music Festival, The New Britain Museum of American Art, The Arts Institute of Western Maine, Wesleyan University, Capitol Community College, Trinity College, and The Hartt School. As an orchestral musician, Washburn has performed in the Hartford, New Haven, Waterbury and Vermont Symphony Orchestras, at New Hampshire Music Festival, and as concertmaster of the Manchester and Hartt School Symphony Orchestras. She has performed in the pit at Hartford Stage, Goodspeed Opera House, and for the Broadway national tour of The Book of Mormon. A strong proponent of contemporary music, she has performed the premiere of many new works for solo and chamber ensembles.

Sarah teaches at The Hartt School Community Division, where she has served as the Chair of the Traditional String Department, and as assistant director of the David Einfeldt Chamber Music Seminar. She is passionate about sharing her love of chamber music with students in the Chamber Music program, and her student ensembles perform often in the community.