USask music education graduate follows her calling

By Chris Putnam

In high school, Hanna Hashi thought she might become a doctor who plays music on the side.

The University of Saskatchewan (USask) student, who is graduating this spring with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education, was part of six musical ensembles at her school in Winnipeg. She also excelled in science and math, so medicine seemed like the right path.

She changed her mind when she arrived at USask’s College of Arts and Science.

“I fell in love with music immediately,” said Hashi, who specializes in trumpet. “I just realized that I love it so much, and that if I had a career that wasn't (music), I would be regretful. And I don't want to be regretful.”

Hashi is now a rising name in the world of classical and jazz music, with performances in multiple cities and a string of competition wins behind her—including first place in her category at the 2023 Canada West Performing Arts Festival in Edmonton.

The series of competitions leading up to Canada West were Hashi’s first, and they came at a tumultuous time in her life. As she prepared to compete that spring, she was also in the middle of a music education internship at a Saskatoon elementary school, and her grandmother was battling cancer.

Hashi flew home to Winnipeg to be with her grandmother in the hospital, then returned to Saskatoon just in time for a local music competition. Soon after arriving, she learned her grandmother had passed away.

“I heard that news the day I had to go perform. And so I had a moment of, ‘I don't know if I can do this.’ But also, that was one of the moments where I realized performers must do this all the time and they still—the show must go on,” she said.

Hashi won her category at that competition, then again at provincials and finally at the Canada West festival. In a rare feat for a trumpeter, she also took home the overall bronze medal at the provincial festival.

During her studies in USask’s School for the Arts, Hashi—who is also a vocalist—won several David L. Kaplan Music Scholarships. Coming from a large family with many siblings pursuing post-secondary education, Hashi said the awards, funded by alumni donors Bob Xiaoping Xu and Ling Chen, made a huge difference in her life.

“I was able to successfully pay for my entire degree with those scholarships, which I am immensely grateful for.”

Hashi was also the first recipient of the USask SSHRC Undergraduate Student Research Award for Black Student Researchers. Using funds from the award, she worked with School for the Arts faculty member Dr. Amanda Lalonde (PhD) to research narratives of female and BIPOC musicians and composers.

Along with USask’s financial aid opportunities, Hashi chose the university in part because it offered a Certificate in Jazz alongside Bachelor of Music options, which meant she didn’t have to choose between jazz and classical studies. She also wanted to learn under award-winning jazz/classical trumpeter Prof. Dean McNeill, who became her applied lessons instructor for three years.

Through McNeill, Hashi got the opportunity to perform in several concerts of the Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra.

During her four years at USask, she was also a soloist with the Saskatoon Youth Orchestra, USask Jazz Ensemble and USask Wind Orchestra, qualified twice for the National Youth Band, and substituted professionally with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra. Last year, she sang with the Greystone Singers, directed by Dr. Jennifer Lang (PhD), on the stage of Carnegie Hall in New York.

“It was the coolest experience I have ever had,” Hashi said. “It was a lot of fun—because I've never traveled outside of the country—to go to another country, experience the music life there … and be there with my friends and fellow musicians.”

She hopes it won’t be her last time performing at Carnegie Hall. This fall, Hashi will start a Master of Music program in trumpet performance at McGill University. She wants to see where her current trajectory as a performer takes her before possibly returning to university for an education degree and becoming a music teacher.

“I really enjoy teaching. An opportunity to be performing and continuing to improve my skills on the trumpet while also teaching—that's my ideal scenario,” she said.

As a student, Hashi was inspired by the stories of excellent musicians who balance careers as teachers and performers.

“I kept seeing examples of … how a career in music is possible,” she said. “There’s always a risk, but the opportunities, you have to make them happen.”