David Hahn
Assistant Professor of Music
Schwob School of Music
Biography
American conductor David Hahn is the Paul S. and Jean R. Amos Distinguished Chair in Music and Director of Choral
Activities at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University. At the Schwob
School of Music, Hahn conducts the Schwob Singers, Choral Union, and teaches courses
in voice and conducting at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Prior to joining
the faculty at the Schwob School of Music, Hahn served as Visiting Director of Choral
Activities at the University of Toledo, and led ensembles at the University of Michigan
and the Eastman School of Music.
A champion of new music and culturally relevant programming, Hahn frequently collaborates with established and emerging composers to deepen and expand the choral canon and engage audiences through premieres and performances of cutting-edge works. Current projects include a commission with Pulitzer Prize finalist, Michael Gilbertson, in addition to a performance of the first multi-sensory work of its kind, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci by Jocelyn Hagen. Past projects have included David Lang’s The National Anthems, Trevor Weston’s Mary’s Verses, and Kile Smith’s modern setting of the Star-Spangled Banner. In 2018, Hahn received the American Prize Ernst Bacon Award in the College/University division for his performance of John Corigliano‘s Fern Hill with the Eastman Repertory Singers.
As the Artistic Director & Conductor of the Orchard Park Chorale, Hahn conducted many notable works with full orchestra including The Rio Grandeby Constant Lambert, Toward the Unknown Region by Ralph Vaughan Williams, and In Terra Pax by Gerald Finzi. At the Eastman School of Music, Hahn was the co-conductor of the Graduate Orchestra where he conducted symphonic works by Brahms, Dvorák, Mahler, Strauss, and Stravinsky. As a Conducting Fellow in the Opera Bootcamp program at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Hahn conducted scenes from Cosi fan tutte and Le Nozze di Figaro. Hahn also conducted the 2020 University of Michigan concert performance premiere of William Banfield’s poignant opera, Edmonia. Hahn will make his debut with the Schwob Philharmonic in February 2023.
An active clinician and passionate music educator, Hahn enjoys frequent engagements with youth and collegiate ensembles throughout the United States. Hahn previously conducted the Michigan Youth Chamber Singers and served as the Director of Choral Music at Nichols School in Buffalo, NY where he directed multiple choirs and served as Artistic Director of the Nichols Choral Festival and Invitational. His students consistently earned top marks at adjudications and were invited to perform at the opening of a Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra concert.
As a professional singer, Hahn has performed with many distinguished ensembles including the two-time GRAMMY® Award-Winning Ensemble—The Washington Chorus, the GRAMMY® Award-Winning Ensemble—the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus (as Bass Section Leader), the Chicago Choral Artists, the VOICES chamber choir, and the Eastman-Rochester Chorus (as Ensemble Manager and Bass Section Leader). Hahn has also made appearances with Buffalo Opera Unlimited, most recently as Lieutenant Gordon in their performance of Silent Night by Kevin Puts. Past solos include Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem and Dominick Argento’s Four Seascapes with the Eastman-Rochester Chorus, Stravinsky’s Mass with the Eastman Repertory Singers, and the Faure Requiem and Handel’s Messiah with the Moody Oratorio Chorus.
Hahn holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Conducting from the University of Michigan (Eugene Rogers), the Master of Music degree in Conducting from the Eastman School of Music (William Weinert, Brad Lubman) where he was a recipient of the Edith H. Babcock and Herman Genhart Choral Conducting scholarships, and the Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance and Sacred Music with Honors from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL. He has also been mentored and taught by many renowned conductors including Mark Gibson, Victor Yampolsky, David Hayes, Duain Wolfe, Andrew Megill, Lucinda Carver, and Erin Freeman.