Hannah Greenstein

Hannah Greenstein is a cellist and music educator from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin, Ireland. She completed her Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance in 2024, graduating with distinction and departmental honors from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where she studied with Brandon Vamos of the Grammy-winning Pacifica String Quartet. In addition to her performance studies, she also completed a minor in Arts Management.

As an aspiring orchestral musician, Hannah was recently selected for the Irish National Opera Orchestra’s roster of freelance musicians for the 2026–2027 season following a competitive audition process. During her time in Indiana, she frequently performed with regional professional orchestras including the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra.

In 2026, Hannah received a Special Judge’s Award in the Maeve Broderick Competition for Strings in Dublin for Best Performance of Solo Bach. She also won Second Prize in her division in the American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition and performed in a winners’ recital at Carnegie Hall. She has participated in masterclasses with Steven Isserlis, Victor Julien-Laferrière, and Amit Peled, and has attended festivals including Eastern Music Festival, the International Cello Institute, and Green Lake Chamber Music Festival. This summer, she will attend the Croatian Opera Academy in Novi Marof, Croatia, where she will perform in the orchestra for productions of Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Humperdinck’s Hänsel and Gretel.

Alongside her performing career, Hannah maintains an active private teaching studio. She has taught cello students since 2016 and has worked primarily online since early 2025. She enjoys helping beginning and intermediate students build strong technical foundations while developing confidence, creativity, and a lifelong love of music.

In her free time, Hannah enjoys running, practicing yoga, spending time with family and friends, and reading.

My teaching style focuses on helping students build strong technical foundations while fostering a genuine love for music. For beginner students, I like to start with the Suzuki method, as it provides an excellent framework for developing essential skills and confidence. As students improve, we transition beyond Suzuki to explore more challenging and diverse repertoire tailored to their interests and goals. I believe students thrive when they practice music they enjoy, and I work to balance technical exercises with pieces that resonate with each individual. Consistent practice and revisiting challenging sections are key elements in building confidence and mastery over time and is something that I emphasize.