Nick Hanson received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Concordia University, Irvine, California, as a major in music with a concentration in handbells. He just completed his 17th year as the director of handbell ensembles at the Potomac School in McLean, Virginia, where he teaches private handbell lessons and handbell classes to 5th–12th grade students in five handbell ensembles. He also just completed his 15th year as handbell director at Bush Hill Presbyterian Church in Alexandria, Virginia.
Nick has served as faculty, clinician, and conductor at handbell events in 15 states (as well as Washington, DC) and internationally in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. In 2015, Nick was chosen as the first-ever Associate Conductor for Distinctly Bronze under the mentorship of renowned conductor Dr. William A. Payn. Also in 2015, Nick conducted the Distinctly Teen ensemble at the Handbell Musicians of America National Seminar in Dallas, Texas. Most recently, Nick was the 2018 guest foreign conductor for the “Showtime” concert performed by the Ministry of Bellz, the premier handbell ensemble of Singapore, and he was the co-conductor for the All-Star Handbell Ensemble at the 2018 Handbell Musicians of America National Seminar in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has written articles for Overtones, Handbell Musicians of America’s quarterly journal, and has arranged and composed over 50 pieces of handbell music.
