Dara Hankins is a native of Chesapeake, Virginia. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts and completed her Master’s degree at Manhattan School of Music in NYC. Her teachers have included Paul Katz and Julia Lichten and Marion Feldman. Dara is a current member of The Civic Orchestra of Chicago, one of the nation’s premier training programs for emerging professional musicians. She splits her time performing and teaching in New York, Chicago and Virginia.