Hanako, Lead Violin

Hanako is a Bay Area, CA transplant who begged to start violin lessons after seeing Itzak Perlman perform on the children's show Sesame Street. A participant in the Young Musicians Program for eight years, she also attended the Crowden Music School, the San Francisco Conservatory prep program, the Tanglewood Institute, and toured and performed in Europe as part of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. She studied violin performance at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston, TX. She has played on several non-classical albums, performed live on the radio, and at the Grammy’s. Currently, she is the concertmaster of the Blue Ridge Orchestra in Asheville and plays in the Zigeuner Quartet, along with several other chamber ensembles. When not making music, she enjoys exploring Asheville’s food scene and hiking trails.