Bio

Dr. Hannah Roberts, NCTM, serves as Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Alabama, where she teaches piano and piano pedagogy. Prior to her appointment at the University of Alabama, she taught group and applied piano at the University of Oklahoma as a graduate teaching assistant; she also formerly taught on the piano faculty of music academies in Alabama and Oklahoma.

Dr. Roberts maintains an active performing schedule as a solo and collaborative artist and has been a prizewinner in numerous competitions. Performance highlights include concerto appearances with the University of Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra and the Oklahoma Community Orchestra, as well as a performance at the Schlöss Esterhazy in Eisenstadt, Austria. Recent and upcoming solo appearances include recitals at the University of Missouri, Ball State University, University of Houston, Ohio University, Western Kentucky University, Mississippi State University, University of South Alabama, and Bryan College, among others. She regularly collaborates with faculty, guest artists, and students at UA and served as a staff pianist for the 2022 International Horn Competition of America. Formerly, she also served as staff accompanist for the University of Oklahoma School of Musical Theater.

Performance achievements include first place awards at the MTNA Oklahoma Young Artist Competition, OMTA Collegiate Competition (Graduate Division), University of Oklahoma Concerto Competition, Oklahoma Community Orchestra Young Artist Competition, and ENKOR International Music Competition. She was named Division Alternate in the MTNA Young Artist Piano Competition (South Central Division) and has also won awards in the MTNA Alabama Young Artist, Alabama Music Teachers Association, and American Virtuoso International Music competitions, among others.

Active as a clinician and presenter, Dr. Roberts regularly presents pedagogy workshops and has been invited to share her research nationally at the MTNA, NCKP, CMS, and GP3 conferences and the Music by Women International Festival. She is published in American Music Teacher, Piano Magazine, and the MTNA e-Journal and has contributed video publications to the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy’s From the Artist Bench and Inspiring Artistry series. Additionally, she has partnered with the Piano Music She Wrote Project with a shared goal of researching and recording piano works by women in the International Music Score Library Project. Research recognitions include a nomination for the University of Oklahoma Dissertation Prize for her research on the Scottish-American pianist Helen Hopekirk, as well as the College Music Society David Kushner Paper Award for her work addressing injury prevention strategies for pianists. Most recently, she was named the recipient of the 2023 Edward T. Cone Fellowship from the Society for American Music. Her research interests include American female composers, health and wellness for pianists, twentieth- and twenty-first century pedagogical repertoire, and rote teaching for beginning pianists.

She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma, where she studied piano with Jeongwon Ham and piano pedagogy with Barbara Fast and Jane Magrath. Additionally, she holds a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the University of South Alabama, where she studied with Robert Holm. She has performed in masterclasses for artist-teachers including Alan Chow, Angela Cheng, Logan Skelton, Douglas Humpherys, Kenneth Drake, Ralf Heiber, Michael Kannen, and Axel Lenarduzzi.

Dr. Roberts is an active member of MTNA and the College Music Society and currently serves on the board of the Alabama Music Teacher’s Association.