Share the JOY!
Enriching Lives Through the Arts
For nearly two decades, Jorgensen has been inviting the region’s children and young adults to arts events through the JOY! (Jorgensen Outreach for Youth) program. Jorgensen’s goal is to offer young people the opportunity to experience what the Arts do best: capture their imaginations and transport them to a world that can enrich, educate and enhance their lives.
With the help of private contributors and corporate partners, the JOY! program provides:
Free tickets for economically disadvantaged children of all ages
In-school outreach and residency programs
Public school programs with transportation assistance
Support for the JOY! Conservatory Program
Support JOY!
Help Jorgensen bring the universal language of the arts to deserving area children with your generous contribution.
Please contact Rodney Rock, Jorgensen Director, if you have any questions regarding the program. Call 860-486-1983 or e-mail rodney.rock@uconn.edu
JOY! would not be possible without the kind contributions of individuals and local businesses.
Thanks to our JOY! benefactors, Jorgensen is able to further the musical education of talented and highly motivated high school musicians from Eastern Connecticut, and to share the performing arts with hundreds of youth who might not otherwise know the thrill of attending live world-class performances. We would like to invite you to join us and share the JOY! by making a donation today. Help Jorgensen bring the universal language of the arts to deserving area children with your generous contribution.
JOY! is supported in part by the SBM Charitable Foundation, Inc.
JOY! Conservatory Program
Cultivating the Next Generation of Talent
Now in its eighteenth year, the JOY! Conservatory Program offers scholarships and exceptional educational opportunities to talented, highly motivated young musicians— both vocalists and instrumentalists—through a competitive application and audition process.
Course of Study
During the academic year, students accepted into the JOY! Conservatory Program participate in a rigorous course of study that may include:
Weekly instrumental/vocal lessons with private teacher of choice for one school year.
Opportunities, when available, to participate in master classes and ensemble coachings.
A chance to perform in a JOY! Conservatory recital.
Additionally, students in the JOY! Conservatory Program receive complimentary access to select professional performances, concerts, recitals, and master classes at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts and the UConn School of Fine Arts in Storrs.
For application and audition information, please visit the JOY! Conservatory Application page.
2026 JOY! Recitals
DATES
Sunday, May 31, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Monday, June 1, 2026 at 7:00 PM
LOCATION
Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts
2132 Hillside Road
Storrs, CT 06269-3104
For application and audition information, please visit the JOY! Conservatory Application page.
For questions or more information, please contact:
Dr. Ryan Burns
JOY! Conservatory Program Coordinator
joyprogram@uconn.edu
JOY! Scholarship Coordinator
RYAN F. BURNS
Ryan F. Burns, baritone, was named the National Winner of The American Prize in Vocal Performance — The Friedrich and Virginia Schorr Memorial Award, in the professional opera division for 2017-18. Dr. Burns performs extensively with opera companies, orchestras, ensembles, and sacred groups in the Northeast.
Dr. Burns has received training from the CoOPERAtive Program at Westminster, the VOICExperience program, and the Total Interpretation Projct as part of the Capobianco Opera Studio. He has sung in master classes with Matthew Polenzani, Nathan Gunn, Chuck Hudson, Laura Brooks Rice, and Sherrill Milnes.
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Dr. Burns has performed with the former Opera Boston, Salt Marsh Opera, Connecticut Lyric Opera, Opera Theater of Connecticut, Opera Providence, Hartford Opera Theater, Greater Worcester Opera, Opera del West, and the Jessica Lang Dance Company. Additionally, he has been a soloist with the New Haven Symphony, Greater Middletown Chorale, South Hadley Chorale and Orchestra, Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra, and the Sounds of Stow Festival Chorus and Orchestra.
In 2017, Dr. Burns graduated with a doctorate of musical arts from the University Connecticut, where he was a former Concerto Competition winner. While at UCONN, Dr. Burns was an adjunct instructor of Opera Studio directing the voice area’s opera outreach program, and currently serves as the Program Coordinator for the JOY! Conservatory Scholarship Program. In the spring of 2018, Dr. Burns was named the new Director of Music at The Pomfret School in Pomfret, CT. He and his family live in South Windsor, CT.