Assistant Director for Community Engagement | Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School

Hannah Ross is the Assistant Director for Community Engagement at the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School, where she oversees the entire community partnerships department and helps cultivate joyful musical experiences and education opportunities for thousands of youth throughout Rhode Island and the New England region. Hannah is especially devoted to sharing her passion for music with young people from the global majority and connecting students to their inner spirit through creative expression. Her work includes supervising the staff and administrative operations for Victoria’s Dream Project, a free after-school strings program for 3rd-5th graders at two elementary sites in Pawtucket, RI that has served over 150 students, and overseeing the planning and production of Link Up, a music literacy curriculum and participatory concert series designed by Carnegie Hall for 3rd-5th graders. Hannah also represents the Education Department on the Music Director Search Committee for the RI Philharmonic Orchestra’s current music director search.

Hannah also has extensive performance experience as a classically trained violist and has shared her joy for music making with global audiences in the United States, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Denmark, and Tanzania. Hannah earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Viola Performance from The Juilliard School, where she also developed and co-directed a student-led performing arts initiative to Arusha, Tanzania for five summers.

Hannah is a proud graduate of the Rhode Island Foundation’s Equity Leadership Initiative Cohort 2 and a current member of the Rhode Island Black Business Association’s Emerging Leaders Development Program Cohort 3.