Liz Hanson is classical percussionist and marimba player who has played with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Boulder Philharmonic and AIMS Orchestra in Graz Austria. Liz has studied marimba with legendary marimbist Keiko Abe in Tokyo and was guest marimba soloist with the Lamont School of Music Percussion Ensemble at the University of Denver.
Liz fell in love with Brazilian music and spent two years playing and studying traditional and instrumental music in São Paulo at the Tatuí Conservatory and recorded an album of Brazilian Instrumental music called Espaço Imaginário. Upon returning to New York City, Liz became a lead teaching artist for Marquis Studios and the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra where she taught her dynamic Brazilian music residency to over a thousand inner-city youth.
Liz’s success as an educator brought her to Hunter’s Point Community Middle School, a top New York City public school, where she founded the music program and served as arts department chair.
Now in Ottawa, Liz has teaches for Carleton University, NAC, MASC and the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. Additionally, Liz teaches Brazilian drumming to an all women’s community drum group called “Diga, Diga, Da”. Liz has played percussion with Rob Frayne’s Drumswamp Project and Roddy Ellias’ opera called “Sleeping Rough” as part of Music and Beyond.