Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education Assistant Professor of Choral Music EducationDirector of Choral Activities
Dr. Christopher Hansen (Chris) is Director of Choral Activities at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond VA. At VCU, he oversees the Choral Department, conducts Commonwealth Singers, and teaches music education courses about vocal/choral methods and techniques. Before coming to VCU, Hansen served as Assistant Professor of Music at Anderson University (SC), where he conducted the Anderson University Chorus, and taught graduate and undergraduate courses in music education and performance. He also taught as an Instructor and Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Prior to his collegiate career, Hansen taught for a decade at Cedar Ridge High School in Hillsborough, North Carolina, where he was named the 2011-2012 Teacher of the Year for both the school and district.
Hansen had his Carnegie Hall conducting debut in June of 2022, where he collaborated with the New England Symphony Ensemble and a large national chorus. Following this Carnegie Hall performance, he received invitations to return to Carnegie Hall as a Guest Conductor in 2023 and 2024. In May of 2025, he performed at Carnegie Hall with Sir John Rutter and the Oxford Symphony Orchestra. In June of 2026, Hansen will have his international conducting debut leading a professional orchestra and international choir in Vienna, Austria, with the performance of Mozart’s Coronation Mass (K. 317).
In addition to his university conducting and teaching, Hansen is an active member of the National Association for Music Education and the American Choral Directors Association. Currently, he serves Virginia ACDA as President-Elect and Four-Year Collegiate Choral Repertoire and Resources Chair. Prior to coming to VA, he served as the Collegiate Choral Activities Chair for the South Carolina chapter of ACDA and the Collegiate Membership Chair for the South Carolina Music Educators Association. He also served as the High School Choral Division Activities Chair for the North Carolina Music Educators’ Association.
Hansen earned his Doctorate and Master degrees from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He earned his Bachelor of Music from The University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
Choirs under Hansen’s direction performed at state, regional, and national music festivals and competitions receiving Superior ratings at all levels. He is active as choral conductor and clinician, and is regularly invited to collaborate with choral ensembles at every level. His primary scholarly work on ‘perceptions of choral performance quality’ has been presented at state, regional, and national levels.
Dr. Hansen believes that all music serves an important role in the development and nutriment of the human condition: our need to belong, be loved, grow and learn, and have purpose. He believes all music has value and utility by virtue of their existence—each genre and style contribute to the nourishment of all peoples across all time and places. He believes himself to be a culturally responsive teacher and conductor who practices culturally relevant pedagogy by broadening and deepening his understanding of himself, singers in choirs he collaborates with, and the music they explore together.