Hana J. Cai

Dr. Hana J. Cai is a conductor and music director based in Cambridge, MA. She currently serves as the Associate Director of Choral Activities at Harvard University after previously serving on the faculties of Ithaca College and Lehigh University. Cai has enjoyed an eclectic career as a conductor, pianist, and singer. At Indiana University, she was one of three conductors selected to assist with preparing the chorus for a performance of the Penderecki St. Luke Passion where the composer was in attendance. She also served as the associate chorus master for the university premiere of Mason Bates’ The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs and Wagner’s Parsifal for the Indiana University Bicentennial. In March 2019, Cai was the winner of the ACDA Conducting Competition in Kansas City, MO. In fall 2023, she was one of the invited presenters for the National Collegiate Choral Organization conference at Morehouse College and has presented at several ACDA state and division conferences. She was also a finalist for the 2023 American Prize Dale Warland Award in Choral Conducting. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in spring 2024 conducting Mozart’s Coronation Mass with the New York City Chamber Orchestra. Her diction guide for Mandarin Chinese for singers and conductors is published in The Choral Scholar and American Choral Review and holds degrees from the University of Maryland, Eastman School of Music, and Indiana University.