Hannah Edlen has almost 20 years of teaching and professional performing experience. She holds her Bachelors and Music Education and Masters of Music Performance on Clarinet from Illinois State University. She began her hustle to teach and perform early on in her college career. At ISU, Hannah was a Graduate Teaching Assistant, and a Concerto Competition finalist, performing on her favorite instrument, the bass clarinet. She traveled throughout the state of Alaska during the summer pursuing more opportunities. From 2007- 2012, she worked as a camp counselor and music faculty at the Sitka Fine Arts Camp. Additionally, Hannah was a guest at the Fairbanks Summer Arts camp in 2011, where she studied different genres of music, including Klezmer and Latin Jazz.
After graduating with her Masters in Clarinet Performance, Hannah taught as an adjunct woodwind professor at Rock Valley College in her hometown of Rockford, IL. Hannah also worked as a classroom teacher with Easterseals Metropolitan Chicago, serving students with various disabilities. Hannah moved to the Madison area in 2016. One faithful evening, she attended local open mic night, on a whim. She made fast friends with many of the regular performers. Within a matter of a month, she found herself invited into a band/collective now known as The Stolen Sea. Hannah plays clarinet, saxophone, guitar, bass guitar, vocals, and miscellaneous percussion with the group. Since their debut performance in 2016, The Stolen Sea has released many albums through the band’s affiliated record label, Sunday Night Records. Hannah even has a solo album, released in 2021, called “Somersault.” All these albums can be found on most music streaming services.
Hannah has won 5 Madison Area Music Awards for Clarinet of the Year, and has been nominated for the Wisconsin Area Music Awards in the same category, 2023-2024. Recently, her music career has gotten some attention from local periodicals, with write-ups by Tone Madison and Our Lives Magazine. Hannah brings her high energy and passion for music to her new role as Music Faculty Generalist at SCA. Hannah takes a collaborative approach to lessons. She and the students work together to come up with creative solutions to improving technique, practicing habits and adding to their ever-growing bucket lists of what they would love to achieve. Hannah leads by example, continuing to be an active performer in the Madison music scene. In addition to teaching at SCA, she will start her new Band, Orchestra and General Music position at James C. Wright Middle School this fall, 2025.
