Already recognized as one of the leading conductors of her generation, Hannah Schendel is known for her musical integrity, collaborative spirit, and authority on the podium. She currently serves as Assistant Conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, working alongside Music Director Jun Märkl and guest conductors, conducting a wide range of programs, and leading pre-concert talks. She also serves as a cover conductor with the Minnesota Orchestra, where she regularly works with distinguished conductors including Music Director Thomas Søndergård and Conductor Laureate Osmo Vänskä.

Recent highlights include appearances with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, The Nutcracker with Indianapolis Ballet, and community partnership performances with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Additional collaborations have included the Sphinx Organization, ABBA: Arrival From Sweden, and performances in Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and New York City with Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Andrew Bird.

In the 2026/27 season, Schendel will appear with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in community partnership and educational concerts, as well as in collaboration with the rock band, Augustana. She will also work with Märkl and other guest conductors on the Indianapolis International Violin Competition, a recording project featuring the orchestral music of Kenji Bunch, and performances of the complete Stravinsky ballets and Beethoven concerti.

In the 2025/26 season, Schendel was selected as the David Effron Conducting Fellow at the Chautauqua Institution where she worked alongside Timothy Muffitt, Rossen Milanov, and Steven Osgood. Additionally, she was one of three finalists for the prestigious Mills Williams Junior Fellowship Competition in Manchester, England. A semifinalist in the 2023 Sergei Koussevitzky International Conducting Competition, she has also garnered honors from The American Prize and is a former Conducting Fellow with the Allentown Symphony.

An enthusiastic collaborator, Schendel has worked with world renowned soloists and composers and is increasingly in demand as a guest conductor. She has assisted on large-scale projects with the Minnesota Orchestra, including Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, the Nordic Soundscapes Festival, Puccini’s Turandot, the Composer’s Institute, and a recording project of Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 7.

Passionate about opera and choral repertoire, Schendel led Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem as Music Director of the Wayzata Symphony Orchestra and assisted on productions of La bohème with the Chautauqua Opera, Gregory Spears’s Fellow Travelers at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Bizet’s Carmen at the Miami Music Festival.

Schendel has participated in prestigious masterclasses including the Mondego Academy, led by Gustavo Gimeno and Dinis Sousa; the Järvi Academy/Pärnu Music Festival, led by Paavo and Neeme Järvi; 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.

Committed to building bridges through music, engaging local communities, and mentoring young musicians, Schendel regularly programs and advocates for contemporary music and works by underrepresented composers. She is frequently invited to work with schools and youth organizations, including YourClassical Minnesota Public Radio, the Northwest Suburban All-Conference Festival, and the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Festival. She has also appeared on podcasts and radio programs and led repertoire discussions with the Lakes Area Music Festival.

Hannah Schendel studied at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music with Mark Gibson and Joe Miller.