Now in his twenty-first season with the Thalia Symphony, Dr. Eric Hanson has been Director of Instrumental Music at Seattle Pacific University since 1979. Dr. Hanson has a Bachelor of Music Education from Wheaton College Conservatory and a Master of Music in conducting from Colorado State University. He completed his doctorate at the University of Washington, and has been teaching for 37 years. Dr. Hanson’s honors include the Boeing Award for Excellence, NEH Fellowships, invitations to perform at three MENC conventions, Mu Phi Epsilon Music Professor of the Year (Beta Phi Chapter), and The Weter Award for Meritorious Scholarship. He has conducted dozens of orchestras including the Denver Symphony and is a frequent conductor with the Northwest Mahler Festival. Dr. Hanson also frequently lectures for the Seattle Symphony.