Certified Music Practitioner & Flutist
Donna Hangen is a Certified Music Practitioner and flutist providing individualized therapeutic music in hospice, hospital, palliative-care and senior-care settings throughout Southwest Ohio.
Donna's path as a therapeutic musician grew from her lifelong involvement with music and her desire to use live music in a more personal and meaningful way. Her flute experience provides a strong musical foundation, while her training as a Certified Music Practitioner has prepared her to adapt music to individual needs and healthcare environments.
Donna has provided therapeutic music in hospital, hospice and senior-care settings, including clinical practicum experiences at Loyola University Medical Center and University of Cincinnati Medical Center and bedside music experience with Ohio's Hospice of Dayton.
She also serves as a Reviewer for the Music for Healing and Transition Program (MHTP), reviewing continuing-education credits for the program.
Donna as a Flutist
Donna has been a flutist for many years and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a Master of Humanities with a music emphasis from Wright State University.
She performs on:
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Concert flute
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Piccolo
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Alto flute
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Bass flute
Her musical experience includes orchestral, concert band, chamber, flute ensemble and solo performance.
Music remains an important part of Donna's life, and her performance experience continues to inform the care and attention she brings to her therapeutic music work.
A Musician Who Listens
Therapeutic music is about more than playing beautiful music. It requires listening—to the person, to the environment and to the moment.
Donna's goal is to use her musical experience and therapeutic-music training to create individualized musical experiences that are respectful, responsive and appropriate for each person.
Donna is a graduate of Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a Master of Humanities (Music Emphasis). Her collegiate teachers were Diane Gilley, Jack Wellbaum, William (Bill) Foster, Christopher Chaffee, and Inger Neighbours. Donna has performed at masterclasses and/or taken lessons with many world-renowned flutists. Her ensemble performance experience includes: Wright State University ensembles; Orchestra member for various musical productions in the Southwest Ohio area; Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra; Springboro Wind Symphony; Piqua Civic Band; Sinclair Community College ensembles; Universal Virtual Jazz Flute Big Band; Flute Club Cincinnati flute choir; University of Cincinnati CCM Chamber Music Adult Weekend performer; member of the combined collegiate flute choir that performed with Sir James Galway; and member of the Universal Jazz Flute Big Band that performed live at the National Flute Association National Convention in Atlanta in August 2025. Donna is a member of the National Flute Association, the Flute New Music Consortium, the International Low Flutes Society, and the International Association for Music and Medicine. She is a partner musician with Senior Music Connection, an organization that enriches the lives of older adults and seniors by providing engaging and fulfilling musical experiences.
Donna's Master's project was a paper titled "Living Female American Composers of Selected Flute Music of the 20th and 21st Centuries" along with a flute recital of music written by these composers. The potential benefits of this project included fostering a greater interest and awareness of music written by this underrepresented population.
