Hailing from Kansas City, Missouri, Hannah Kavanaugh seeks to enrich her performance of flute repertoire with contemporary and jazz music. She boasts a wide range of study spanning from J.S. Bach to Valerie Coleman and beyond, as well as performances with various big bands and a jazz combo.

A current student at the Capital University Conservatory of Music in Bexley, Ohio, Hannah has performed with the Capital University Symphonic Winds, Chapel Choir, Lab Band, Brillante Flute Quartet, OtterCap Orchestra, the Winds of Change Quintet, and the Goldilocks Flute and Guitar Duo, among others. With the Chapel Choir and Symphonic Winds, she performed on the Carnegie Hall stage in 2020 and 2022. She also performed with the Symphonic Winds at the College Band Directors National Association Conference in Chicago, Illinois, in 2020. Her jazz experience includes playing tenor saxophone and flute with the university’s Lab Band and with Vaughn Wiester’s Famous Jazz Orchestra at the Clintonville Woman’s Club in Clintonville, Ohio.

During her time at Capital University, Hannah has earned several awards for her performance. Among these are the Conservatory Music Award, the Outstanding Flutist Award, the Symphony Club of Central Ohio Scholarship Award, and the Mary Ann Starring Memorial Award for Woodwinds or Brass. She was a finalist in the 2022 Conservatory Scholarship Competition. She has also been invited to join the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society.

In service to her campus and local community, Hannah acts as the President of Sigma Alpha Iota’s Kappa Tau chapter. This professional music fraternity seeks to advance the music of women and underrepresented composers on college campuses and in the broader community. The Kappa Tau chapter is known to perform at local nursing homes and schools, as well as to assist with running recitals and concerts at the Capital University Conservatory of Music.

Hannah studies with Dr. Lisa Jelle at Capital University, and previously studied with Elaine Brown at William Jewell College and Dr. Gina Hart-Kemper at MidAmerica Nazarene University. She has played in master classes for Dr. Fritz Kraber, Dr. Kimberlee Goodman, and Randall Hester. She studies the tenor saxophone with Dr. Michael Cox at Capital University and Doug Talley in Kansas City, Missouri.

Besides music, Hannah likes to spend her free time making commissioned and personal artwork, playing video games, and reading fantasy and science fiction books. She also goes camping at Yellowstone National Park every summer with her family.

Hannah is currently focusing on preparing for her senior recital in the spring of 2023, as well as graduate school auditions.