Atsuko Hanson

Director of Music

Atsuko Hanson (née Egawa) was born in Nagasaki, Japan and began playing the piano at age five. She attended Kwassui High School with a concentration in music, continuing her studies at Kwassui University in the piano department. There she studied with Prof. Shunji Itani, graduating in 2000. During this time she won several prizes in Japan for instrumental performance.

In 2001 she continued her studies in Germany at the Nuremberg Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Prof. Gabriel Rosenberg. Her Masters in Piano Performance was followed by post-Masters study under Prof. Siegmund von Hausegger. This afforded her the opportunity to dedicate her efforts to both chamber music and her solo career.

In 2005 she won first prize at the Joseph-Dichler International Music Competition in Vienna. That same year she was chosen as a representative of the Yehundi Menuhin Society “LIVE MUSIC NOW” giving concerts in Europe and performing for Bayern 4 classic radio. In 2007 she returned to Japan where she gave numerous solo and chamber music concerts and performed with several orchestras. She was also a frequent guest at music festivals as a soloist and chamber musician.

In 2009 she was selected as a “Kioi New Artist” and celebrated in the same year her solo debut in Kioi Hall in Tokyo. She was twice selected as a part of the Abendmusik series in Bergün, Switzerland—once as a soloist and once in piano-violin duo.

She started her career in the U.S. in 2013. She has been working as a pianist in several capacities at both Kutztown and Alvernia University and collaborates with area.