Alan Hankers
Alan Hankers is an award-winning composer, sound designer, and keyboardist with a passion for sonic storytelling and collaboration. His work spans concert halls, films, video games, commercials, and studio albums. Drawing from his background in classical, metal, and electronic music, Alan’s work explores the intersections of composition, sound design, interactive technology, and performance.
Alan regularly collaborates with filmmakers, game developers, and artists. His music has been featured on major streaming platforms, including Amazon, showcased at the Game Awards, and used in commercials for brands such as Mercedes-Benz and Google. Alan’s scores have received international recognition, including Best Original Score from the Independent Shorts Awards for the animated short film Blue (Preymaker, dir. Robert Petrie). His work has also been recognized at the Telluride Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Sweden Film Awards, and others. He is currently composing and implementing the original music and sound design for the upcoming video game Heroes Sucks (Dawning Light Studios).
Alan’s concert works have been performed across the United States, Europe, and Asia by ensembles including the Pacific Chamber Orchestra, Nodus Ensemble, and the South Carolina Philharmonic. Upcoming commissions include a new work for Ensemble Edge to be premiered in Denmark in 2026.
As a performer, Alan has toured throughout North America and recorded with a range of artists. He is the keyboardist of the American-Canadian progressive metal band JIA, who released their debut album Elapse in 2024. The band’s early singles featured collaborations with Matt Garstka (Animals as Leaders), Michael Lessard (The Contortionist), and Casey Sabol (ex-Periphery), and has since formed a full-time lineup. Alan was also the founding pianist and keyboardist of the new music ensemble, Pathos Trio, whose debut album was released on New Focus Recordings.
Alan's interest in using music technology as a creative tool led him to found Ethos Audio, a company dedicated to crafting expressive and highly detailed virtual instrument libraries. Ethos Audio’s first release, Spectral Cello, is scheduled to launch in the summer of 2025 and will be fully compatible with Native Instruments’ Kontakt Player.
Alan will join the faculty at Vassar College in Fall 2025 as an Assistant Professor of Music Composition. He previously taught at West Virginia University, Montclair State University, and Stony Brook University, and served as a mentor for the Mentorship Program at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. He earned his Ph.D. in Music Composition from Stony Brook University in 2021.