BIOGRAPHY

Hannah Maria Howard Andresen is an orchestral conductor and speaker on gender and music. She is the Award Recipient of the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship 2024-2026 under the leadership of Marin Alsop. She has been selected for the Nordic Conductors’ Forum and the Danish Conductors’ Forum, and was previously a part of the Norwegian Conductors’ Forum for two years, where she was featured in the NRK documentary 'Let's Play' with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. The program included masterclasses with conductors such as Johannes Schlaefli and Jorma Panula, and collaborations with several Norwegian orchestras.

 

Andresen holds a Master of Philosophy in Gender Studies from the University of Oslo, with research focusing on female professional conductors and the necessary changes for greater diversity in the classical music industry. She also studied British literature from a gender perspective at the Lady Margaret Hall Summer School at the University of Oxford. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Conducting from the Norwegian Academy of Music in 2021. Now, Andresen has just been accepted to the master’s degree program in orchestral conducting at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, where she will study from September 2024 to June 2026.

 

She has been a conducting fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, where she was awarded a full scholarship. Additionally, she taught ensemble leadership at the University of Stavanger during the 2023-2024 academic year, where she also delivered a lecture on music and gender. Andresen's journey reflects her commitment to an interdisciplinary artistic direction and a dedication to advocating for gender equality in the classical music industry.