Sahara von Hattenberger is a professional cellist from Vancouver, Canada. As a graduate of the Schulich School of Music at McGill University, (B.A. 2016 / M.M. 2018), she completed her primary studies with Matt Haimovitz, Brian Manker, Ariel Barnes, and Elizabeth Dolin with additional tutelage from Colin Carr, Johannes Moser, Phillipe Muller, and Truls Mork. 

 

After completing her Master’s Degree she signed with a Tokyo-based music agency and lived in Japan under contract from 2019 to 2020. After working as a soloist and touring the country extensively, she returned to Canada during the pandemic during which time she founded “Duo Kogarashi”, an ensemble dedicated to promoting cultural exchange between Japan and Canada. Last year she was the recipient of a grant from the Canada Council of the Arts to commission two new works for cello and piano that promoted Japanese culture in Canada. The resulting filmed performance was almost an hour long and included works from both Japanese and Canadian composers.

 

Sahara is a member of the Chamber Orchestra of New York.

 

In 2024 she will be releasing her first solo album through the label Odd Sounds with collaborative pianist Joanne Kang (from Carnegie Hall’s: “ensemble connect”) as well as acclaimed jazz performers Jim Doxas (drums) and Adrian Vedady (bass), and will feature repertoire by Claude Bolling alongside two new commissions by Grammy-winning composer Remi LeBoeuf and Malcolm Sailor. Her mission as a chamber musician is to bring engaging contemporary music to the forefront. 

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