Hannah Chan-Hartley

CREATOR OF THE VISUAL LISTENING GUIDE

Dr. Hannah Chan-Hartley is a public musicologist who specializes in communicating about music to broad audiences in engaging, rigorous, and innovative ways. Often acting as a bridge between the classical music industry and academic settings, she is active as a writer, editor, speaker, content producer, musicological and publications consultant, and instructor with various major arts organizations, including Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. She was the Musicologist-in-Residence at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland at the invitation of the Verbier Festival Academy and the Festival’s UNLTD creative lab in 2018, 2022, and 2023. In this role, she presented the Visual Listening Guide in talks and workshops with festival audiences and the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra. The 2023 Festival featured the successful world debut of the Augmented Reality Visual Listening Guide.

Hannah initially developed her Visual Listening Guides when she was the managing editor of publications and musicologist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. First appearing in the TSO’s program books in 2015, the Guides have since been used by orchestras, educators, and classical music lovers around the world. The Visual Listening Guide has also been discussed and analyzed by music and UX design researchers in various publications. A chapter about the Visual Listening Guide written by Hannah appears in The Oxford Handbook of Public Music Theory (Oxford University Press, published online in 2021; forthcoming in print), edited by J. Daniel Jenkins.

Hannah has performed professionally as an orchestral violinist and enjoys chamber music. Her research interests include the social and cultural history of music and music institutions, with a focus on the transatlantic (Europe-North America) context from the 19th century to the present day, as well as the performance and reception history of orchestral music and opera.

Hannah holds a Bachelor of Music in Honours Violin Performance from McGill University, a Master of Philosophy in Musicology and Performance from the University of Oxford, and a PhD in Musicology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Want a deeper dive into the Visual Listening Guide experience?

Hannah is available for speaking engagements, including pre-concert talks, lectures, and interactive education workshops, using the Guides as a focal point. Sessions can easily be tailored to specific goals and type of audience. Contact us for information!