Hannah Nicholas is the principal violist of the Philadelphia Ballet Orchestra and the head of the chamber music series Hannah Rose Presents. She has appeared on series and festivals including the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Network for New Music, LyricFest, Lincoln Center Atrium 360, Bowerbird, the Barnes Ensemble Residency, Festival Mozaic, and Festival de Febrero in Mexico. Hannah has toured with the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO) and performed as guest violist with the Garth Newel Piano Quartet. She is a guest violist with the all-female crossover string quartet ATLYS, performing on their 2026 and 2027 seasons.
Hannah has served as principal viola of the Central City Opera Orchestra in Colorado and co-principal of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach under Michael Tilson Thomas (2014-17). Since 2018 she has been a substitute violist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Hannah has performed as a soloist at the Kennedy Center Millenium Stage and the Lucerne Festival Academy in Switzerland, featured on the Hyperstring Trilogy by Tod Machover. She has garnered praised for her “rich tonal sonority” (South Florida Classical Review), and her orchestral solos have been noted as “exceptional” and “beautifully performed” (New York Classical Review; Culture Vulture).
For three years, Hannah was a featured artist with the O, Miami Poetry Festival, curating her own poetry themed concerts. Highlights include a joint commission from composer Sahba Aminikia and artist Kevork Mourad, “The Wind Will Blow Us Away,” and collaborations with composers Ljova and Layale Chaker. In addition to viola, Hannah writes music and performs with jazz musicians Gregg Mervine and Josh Machiz, and has released music with them including the Sephardic song “La Rosa Enflorece.” She can be heard on Alex G.’s album, “Headlights,” on both viola and vocals, as well as Ilan Isakov’s “Honey from the Lion” from his album “Straight Lines.” Hannah is a substitute classical host on Philadelphia’s classical and jazz radio station, WRTI.
Hannah studied with Kim Kashkashian at New England Conservatory (Masters in Music), and with Paul Hersh and Jonathan Vinocour at the San Francisco Conservatory (Artist Certificate). She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania in Modern Middle Eastern Studies, graduating Magna Cum Laude, while studying viola with Che-Hung Chen. Hannah teaches viola at Swarthmore College and is on the faculty of Philadelphia International Music Festival.