Hanna Zhdan
First Violin
Born in Minsk, Belarus, Hanna Zhdan began studying violin at the age of six. She moved to the United States in 2014 to study with Ben Sayevich at Park University’s International Center for Music, and later earned her Master’s degree and Professional Studies Certificate from the Colburn Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Martin Beaver.
Zhdan has appeared as a soloist with the FOOSA Philharmonic, Park University’s ICM Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of the Republican Music College (Belarus), the State Academic Symphony Orchestra (Belarus), and the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Belarus and Russia. She is a prizewinner of the Hellam Young Artists’ Competition and winner of the FOOSA Festival Concerto Competition, and was selected as one of ten winners of the Keston MAX Audition at the Music Academy of the West.
Zhdan joined the first violin section of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra in 2022.
During the summer months, she performs with Opera North in Vermont. Alongside her orchestral work, she is an active chamber musician and enjoys sharing music in porch and living room concerts with her family quartet.
In her free time, she enjoys training and spending time with her two Dalmatians.
Do you have any pre-performance rituals?
My pre-performance ritual is quite simple: because most of our performances take place in the evenings, a great meal followed by a power nap is the perfect way for me to prepare and ensure I'm at my best.
What's an interesting tidbit about how you chose your instrument?
My mom told me that the violin was the queen of music, and six-year-old me was immediately sold.
