Hannah Crawford’s first paid gig was singing O Canada for the Rockhound Gemboree in her hometown of Bancroft, Ont., the mineral capital of Canada, an old mining town with a surprisingly vibrant arts community.

Hannah has been singing “‘since the beginning.” Her mother taught piano to children in town, including Hannah and her three older brothers. By age seven, she had begun formal lessons, soon joining community musical theatre productions and winning prizes at the Kiwanis Music Festival. She found sanctuary in high school music and drama classes, and alongside her parents, both avid musicians and active arts supporters, she co-founded a summer concert series, where she also managed social media and marketing.

After high school, Hannah entered the Voice Performance program at Cambrian College in Sudbury, where she was first immersed in the world of opera. There she started to discover her distinctive sound as an aspiring spinto soprano, a voice full of colour, depth, and scope. During her undergraduate studies at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont., she committed fully to a career in opera and discovered the joy of collaboration, believing that the success of any production rests on the contributions of everyone involved, from set painters to stage directors.

Most recently, Hannah made her role debut with Edmonton Opera as Helmwige in Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre. Previous operatic credits include the Stewardess in Jonathan Dove’s Flight with the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, the Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro with Chicago Summer Opera, and Madame Lidoine in Wilfrid Laurier University’s 2021 production of Dialogues des Carmélites.

Equally active as a concert artist, Hannah has appeared as a soloist with the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra and in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre’s Free Concert Series, in addition to numerous performances across Toronto.

Hannah has also been recognized in competition at the national and international level. In the 2022/23 season, she earned 2nd Place at the Canadian Opera Company’s Centre Stage Competition. In 2024, she won her District and received an Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition Regionals, and was awarded 3rd Place in the Wagner Society of New York Competition. This Fall, she will appear as a finalist in the National Capital Opera Society Competition and the Rumbold Vocal Prize. She is currently based in Toronto, where she studies with Elizabeth McDonald.