Hannah Scarborough, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, is a London-based freelance cellist whose work ranges from orchestral and opera pit playing to a variety of chamber music. She earned her Masters of Music in cello performance and literature from the Eastman School of Music in 2023, where she was teaching assistant to Professors Steven Doane and Rosemary Elliot.
Hannah studied with Peter Stumpf from 2016-2021, earning her Bachelors of Music at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 2020 and her Performance Diploma in 2021 as the recipient of the Premier Young Artist Award and Janos Starker Memorial Scholarship. While at IU, she studied Baroque and Classical cello with Joanna Blendulf. Hannah was principal cello of IU’s Philharmonic Orchestra in 2019, performing Wagner’s Parsifal among other notable concerts. She held section cello positions in the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic and Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra cello sections from 2019-2020.
Hannah moved to London to be a part of orchestral fellowship Southbank Sinfonia from 2023-2024, now called Sinfornia Smith Square. She has since played with ensembles such as the BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, Glyndebourne Sinfonia, and London Handel Festival Orchestra. She was a Jerwood Pit Perfect fellow in 2024, joining Glyndebourne for their autumn season.
A passionate chamber musician, Hannah is a member of the Millbank Quartet, formed at Smith Square Hall in 2023. The quartet has performed at the Anghiari Festival in Tuscany as well as numerous venues in and outside of London. Hannah has played in masterclasses for the Emerson Quartet and Alexander Quartet, studied chamber music with the Pacifica Quartet, performed as a part of the Wylie House concert series in 2019, and was a member of the award-winning Trio Volare with the San-Francisco-based program Young Chamber Musicians. She was a recipient of the Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council’s Youth Excellence in Arts Award and was a winner in the Etude Club of Berkeley’s Young Artist Competition.
Hannah is also an experienced music educator, teaching cello lessons both privately and at a music center in southwest London. She has taught at the University of Rochester, the Eastman Community Music School, and the Southwark Music Centre in addition to her own private studio. Hannah teaches students of varying levels, backgrounds, and needs.
Hannah enjoys directing her own concerts and chamber music projects, writing about her musical pursuits, and listening to as much live music as she can. Having worked in libraries and in food service prior to her current work, she continues to love reading and eating above much else.