BIOGRAPHY
An enthusiastic collaborator, Schendel has performed alongside celebrated soloists, including Anthony Ross (principal cello, Minnesota Orchestra), Cassie Pilgrim (principal oboe, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra), and Gao Hong (pipa). She is also in demand as a guest conductor and served as assistant conductor Puccini’s La bohème, Gregory Spears's Fellow Travelers and Britten's A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Schendel has recently assisted in performances with the Minnesota Orchestra, including Mozart’s Requiem, the Nordic Soundscapes Festival, Puccini’s Turandot, and the Composer’s Institute, led by composer, Kevin Puts. As cover conductor, she has worked with soloists such as Johan Dalene, Avi Avital, Stuart Skelton, Christine Goerke, Limmie Pulliam, George Li, J’Nai Bridges, Jon Kimura Parker, Steven Banks, and Njioma Chinyere Grevious.
Schendel has participated in prestigious festivals including the Järvi Academy/Pärnu Music Festival, led by Paavo Järvi, Neeme Järvi, and Leonid Grin, the LEAD Foundation/Fiskars Summer Music Festival, led by Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, and Eva Ollikainen, and the Cabrillo Festival for Contemporary Music, led by Cristian Măcelaru.
Highlights of the 2024/25 season included performances of Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem, and a range of guest conducting engagements. She was re-invited to assist the Minnesota Orchestra this season and is developing an exciting collaboration with violist Nathaniel Sendi, featuring Jörg Widmann’s Viola Concerto.
A passionate advocate for contemporary and underrepresented composers, Schendel’s repertoire includes works by Gabriela Lena Frank, Nkeiru Okoye, Elfrida Andrée, Lili Boulanger, Gao Hong, Cécile Chaminade, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Jennifer Higdon, Chen Yi, and Stella Sung.
Schendel is committed to building bridges with diverse audiences and engaging with local communities. She is frequently invited as guest artist and clinician with schools and youth organizations, including YourClassical Minnesota Public Radio, the 2025 Northwest Suburban All-Conference Festival, and the 2024 Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Festival. Schendel has appeared on podcasts and radio interviews and has led repertoire discussions for the Lakes Area Music Festival.
Hannah Schendel studied at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music with Mark Gibson and Joe Miller; her mentors include Johannes Schlaefli, Marin Alsop, Larry Rachleff, Kathy Romey, Jonathan Martin, and Michelle Miller Burns.
Hannah Schendel, a leading conductor of her generation, is dedicated to performing and programming music that explores the human experience. Recently appointed Assistant Conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony, she also serves as cover conductor with the Minnesota Orchestra, where she works alongside distinguished conductors such as Music Director Thomas Søndergård, Osmo Vänskä, Ruth Reinhardt, Tito Muñoz, and Bill Eddins. Additionally, Schendel has served as Music Director of the Wayzata Symphony Orchestra and Conductor of the Carleton College Orchestra.
Schendel was named the 2025 David Effron Conducting Fellow at the Chautauqua Institution, leading performances of Barber, Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky and assisting Maestros Timothy Muffitt, Rossen Milanov, and Steven Osgood. This spring, she was chosen as one of three finalists for the prestigious Mills Williams Junior Fellowship Competition at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. A semifinalist in the 2023 Sergei Koussevitzky International Conducting Competition, she has garnered honors from The American Prize and is a former Conducting Fellow with the Allentown Symphony.