Ann DuHamel
Biography Ann DuHamel
Ann DuHamel
Praised for the “…grace and sensitivity” of her playing and described as “… a delight for the ears and the soul,” pianist Ann DuHamel serves as Head of Keyboard Studies at the University of Minnesota, Morris. An ardent proponent of modern music, she enjoys working with and commissioning contemporary composers, and this past season she premiered works of Marc Chan (CT), Luke Dahn (UT), Joseph Dangerfield (WV), Edie Hill (MN), Linda Kachelmeier (MN), Tyler Kline (FL/KY), and most recently, Jocelyn Hagen (MN). The 2019 season brings a solo program of music inspired by Brahms, with recitals in Malaysia, Thailand, Italy, Serbia, Belgium, England, and across the United States, as well as Saint-Saëns Carnival of the Animals with the UMM chamber orchestra and a return engagement of the Grieg piano concerto with the Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra.
A versatile artist and scholar, Ann’s recent performances and presentations span a variety of eras, from the Bach D minor keyboard concerto and Leopold Koželuch piano sonatas to the Brahms Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Händel and the Bartók sonata for two pianos and percussion. She has coached with Libby Larsen and Lowell Liebermann, on whose 11 Nocturnes for piano she wrote her doctoral dissertation. Past musical collaborators include members of the Grammy Award-winning Minnesota Orchestra and St Paul Chamber Orchestra, as well as Maria Jette, soprano; Clara Osowski, mezzo-soprano; Stephen Swanson, baritone; Seta Baltayan, cello; Preston Duncan, saxophone; Art Haecker, trombone; Gro Sandvik, flute; and Martha Councell, flute. Her participation in several summer festivals, such as PianoSummer at New Paltz and Piano Texas, has resulted in studies with Vladimir Feltsman, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Martin Katz, Alexander Korsantia, and Nelita True, among others. Past performances include venues in sixteen countries and over twenty-five states, with two appearances in Carnegie Weill Recital Hall.
Passionate about piano pedagogy and enthused to share this love, Ann is honored to begin her term as President of the Minnesota Music Teachers Association in July 2019. Her students have received such awards as 1st place in the MMTA composition contest and 2nd place in the MMTA Collegiate Young Artist competition. Ann frequently adjudicates for both the solo piano and chamber music portions of the international Enkor competition; she has also served on the jury for the prestigious Schubert Club scholarship competition, the Minneapolis Music Teachers Forum Mozart Piano Concerto Competition, and the Steinway Junior Piano Competition.
Ann earned a DMA from the University of Iowa under the tutelage of Ksenia Nosikova. Prior to her doctoral studies, she was Assistant Director to Paul Wirth at the Central MN Music School (now the Wirth Center for the Performing Arts) in St Cloud, Minnesota.
