Deborah Keily Hanson
Composition Awards:
1st Place: Sunrise at Yushan
2012 MTAC Composers Today
1st Place: Palawan
2012 MTAC Composers Today
3rd Place: Marito!
2012 MTAC Composers Today
3rd Place: Tango por dos Pianos
2012 MTAC Composers Today
Honorable Mention: Dance of the Northern Lights
2012 MTAC Composers Today
1st Place: Nijo Gardens
2011 MTAC Composers Today
Honorable Mention: Tango de Eduardo
2011 MTAC Composers Today
Deborah Keily Hanson has a diverse musical background. An accomplished musician, teacher, and performer, she has performed solo recitals, accompanied soloists from the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera, performed at the Ocho Rios International Jazz Festival in Jamaica, accompanied musical theater groups locally and with the Los Angeles Opera Musical Theater Company. She has performed with the Antelope Valley Symphony Orchestra, and the Lancaster Community Orchestra. In September 2010, Deborah joined the Argentine pianist Mario Roque in performing duo piano fund raising concerts for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Deborah also was featured in articles for Pianoforte. In 2011, she was invited to play for a Master Class with Menahem Pressler. She also regularly performs in the Sara Compinsky Master Class.
Deborah studied piano for many years with Helen Landon and then Adrian Ruiz. After joining MTAC in 2007, she began studies with Dr. Louise Earhart. In 2008, Deborah began her studies with UCLA professor and world-renowned pianist Vitaly Margulis. Margulis was the inspiration to begin composing in 2011. Her first compositions, Nijo Gardens and Tango de Eduardo were winners in the MTAC Composer’s Today State Contest 2011. In 2012, five of Deborah’s compositions were winners: Palawan, Sunrise at Yushan, Tango por dos Pianos, Marito!, and Dance of the Northern Lights. In 2012 she began studying composition with Konstantin Sirounian.
Deborah received her BA Degree and teaching credential in 1989 from Chapman University. In 1992, she was Teacher Of The Year at El Dorado Elementary. While at El Dorado, she produced and directed over 20 musicals. She also co-founded Lancaster School District’s “Kids on Stage” program, whereby children in the District’s 16 schools performed annually at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center, raising over $100,000 to fund arts in education. She produced a CD of her students, “Proud to be American” as a fund raiser for Roberto Clementi Elementary School, one mile from ground zero. The CD was mentioned in Entertainment Weekly magazine and in a CBS Special, “The Day America Was Changed”. Her educational success won her both the Dawley-McLaughlin Award for Excellence in Music Education and the 2001 BRAVO Award presented by the Los Angeles Music Center.
1st Place: Sunrise at Yushan
2012 MTAC Composers Today
1st Place: Palawan
2012 MTAC Composers Today
3rd Place: Marito!
2012 MTAC Composers Today
3rd Place: Tango por dos Pianos
2012 MTAC Composers Today
Honorable Mention: Dance of the Northern Lights
2012 MTAC Composers Today
1st Place: Nijo Gardens
2011 MTAC Composers Today
Honorable Mention: Tango de Eduardo
2011 MTAC Composers Today
Deborah Keily Hanson has a diverse musical background. An accomplished musician, teacher, and performer, she has performed solo recitals, accompanied soloists from the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera, performed at the Ocho Rios International Jazz Festival in Jamaica, accompanied musical theater groups locally and with the Los Angeles Opera Musical Theater Company. She has performed with the Antelope Valley Symphony Orchestra, and the Lancaster Community Orchestra. In September 2010, Deborah joined the Argentine pianist Mario Roque in performing duo piano fund raising concerts for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Deborah also was featured in articles for Pianoforte. In 2011, she was invited to play for a Master Class with Menahem Pressler. She also regularly performs in the Sara Compinsky Master Class.
Deborah studied piano for many years with Helen Landon and then Adrian Ruiz. After joining MTAC in 2007, she began studies with Dr. Louise Earhart. In 2008, Deborah began her studies with UCLA professor and world-renowned pianist Vitaly Margulis. Margulis was the inspiration to begin composing in 2011. Her first compositions, Nijo Gardens and Tango de Eduardo were winners in the MTAC Composer’s Today State Contest 2011. In 2012, five of Deborah’s compositions were winners: Palawan, Sunrise at Yushan, Tango por dos Pianos, Marito!, and Dance of the Northern Lights. In 2012 she began studying composition with Konstantin Sirounian.
Deborah received her BA Degree and teaching credential in 1989 from Chapman University. In 1992, she was Teacher Of The Year at El Dorado Elementary. While at El Dorado, she produced and directed over 20 musicals. She also co-founded Lancaster School District’s “Kids on Stage” program, whereby children in the District’s 16 schools performed annually at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center, raising over $100,000 to fund arts in education. She produced a CD of her students, “Proud to be American” as a fund raiser for Roberto Clementi Elementary School, one mile from ground zero. The CD was mentioned in Entertainment Weekly magazine and in a CBS Special, “The Day America Was Changed”. Her educational success won her both the Dawley-McLaughlin Award for Excellence in Music Education and the 2001 BRAVO Award presented by the Los Angeles Music Center.