Pianist Hanbo Ma is recognized as one of today's most promising emerging artists, having performed in solo recitals and with orchestras across Asia, Europe, and North America at acclaimed venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York City, the Liszt Memorial Concert Hall in Budapest, and more. Her career began at the age of 17 with an appearance at Severance Hall in Cleveland, Ohio, where her performance of Islamey by Balakirev received high praise. She later garnered further recognition by winning the San Jose International Piano Competition, the St. Andrews International Piano Competition, and the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, among others, and was selected as the only recipient of the Cobos Piano Prize awarded by the Eastman School of Music in 2015.

Dr. Ma has prominently presented divers concert tours, including an all-Liszt recital tour across North America and Europe, sponsored by the Embassy of Hungary in Washington, D.C., the Liszt Memorial Museum in Budapest, and the Hungarian Cultural Center in London; a series of concerts and master classes on French and Russian music at institutions such as the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, East Tennessee State University, Biola University, and the Wuhan Conservatory in China; and more. Most recently, her themed concert tour, Music Around the World, which showcases works by six composers from five countries, has toured major cities such as Shanghai, Los Angeles, Chengdu, and Xi’an, with support from Steinway & Sons and Parsons Music.

An active pianist, Dr. Ma not only enjoys solo performances but also collaborating with chamber groups and contemporary composers. She was invited to be one of twelve scholars at the Heartland Chamber Music Festival, where her chamber performance was live-streamed on Kansas Public Radio. She has premiered numerous works, including the world premiere of Ben Kwok’s Sounds From the Lung Fields, Dr. Chih-long Hu’s Formosa Caprices, and Elizabeth A. Baker’s Four Plane, a piece dedicated to Dr. Ma. Her most recent project involves preparing to record and premiere Michael Colina’s Piano Concerto with the Florida Symphony.

In 2023, Dr. Ma was inducted into the Steinway & Sons Teacher Hall of Fame alongside piano pedagogues from prestigious institutions such as The Juilliard School, the New England Conservatory, and the Cleveland Institute of Music. As a distinguished music educator, she has served as Chair of the Jury for the Golden Gate International Piano Competition and is a regular jury member for prestigious competitions, including the San Francisco International Piano Competition, the New Stage International Piano Competition, and the Steinway Avanti Piano Competition. Dr. Ma has also been invited to join the faculty of several international music festivals and masterclasses, including the Concordia University Chamber Music Festival, the New Stage International Music Festival, and the Orbifold International Music Festival.

Dr. Ma currently serves as the Artistic Director of the Cadence Collective Foundation. The foundation is known for its unique concert series, MUSIC CANVAS: Themed Concert Series, which offers an innovative approach to classical music performance. Each concert is designed around a specific theme, with performers curating and grouping pieces accordingly. The concerts are accompanied by accessible and engaging introductions, making classical music more relatable to everyday life. This format provides audiences with both an educational and enjoyable experience, earning widespread acclaim. In 2024, Music Around the World embarked on a global tour. The foundation is set to collaborate with various artists to create one-of-a-kind performances based on themes such as Dancing on My Instruments, Hidden Gems, and Love and Death, aiming to attract audiences from around the world.

Dr. Ma holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music. While completing her Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance at USC, she also studied composition and orchestral conducting with National Medal of Arts recipient Morten Lauridsen and former Vice President of the New England Conservatory of Music, Larry Livingston. Since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, she has been posting free educational online content through her "How to Play..." series, which has gained significant recognition, gathering over 40,000 subscribers. Her latest CD, From Schumann, With Love, is now available on all major streaming platforms.