Dr. Dawn Dalangin Hawk is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM) and Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) Certified teacher. "Dr. D" is the Executive Director of Hawk Music Academy, piano instructor, and website designer. She has over 20 years of teaching experience and has taught a wide variety of ages and levels in private, group, and collegiate settings. She enjoys teaching students of all ages and levels, having taught students as young as 3 months old (her daughter, Lilu!) through students in their seventies. 

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In 2022, Dr. D was awarded the Teacher of Distinction RCM award for the South East region of the United States and recognized for her leadership as a music teacher in the community. As an RCM Certified advanced specialist in piano, she has successfully prepared students for exams through Level 10 in piano, history and theory/counterpoint. Her students have consistently received high marks on their Royal Conservatory examinations, with several receiving the highest marks locally, statewide, and regionally. She highly values the RCM program so much that she has made herself take the exams for violin, an instrument she picked up a few years ago, just to be able to help her daughter be a violinist some day! As a violin student, she has earned top marks, including the Regional Gold Medal, for the highest exam mark in the southeastern region.

 

At local festivals and competitions, her students are consistently selected for special performance and scholarship awards. She is proud to say that her graduated seniors have been accepted into prestigious schools, such as the University of Georgia, Boston Conservatory, Indiana University, Purdue University, Georgia Tech, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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Dawn started playing the piano at the age of 11 in Germany, when her parents won a keyboard at a bingo game. Her mom bought her books from the local thrift store and she taught herself how to play for a few months. Recognizing that she needed a teacher, her mom found her a teacher on the military base. In less than a year, she was already playing Mozart Sonatas and Chopin Nocturnes. In middle school, she moved to Colorado Springs, where she studied with multiple teachers through high school, including Dr. Curtis Smith from the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs.

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Dr. D received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance, and a Master of Music in Piano Performance from Colorado State University. She received her Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Georgia with a major emphasis in Piano Performance, studying with Dr. Evgeny Rivkin, and a minor in Piano Pedagogy under the tutelage of Dr. Pete Jutras. 

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After graduating with her engineering degree, she was offered a position at Boeing for missile defense, but loved piano performing and teaching so much, she declined the position. She taught at several institutions, including the Westin Arts Academy, Main Street Music Academy, and founded her own institution, the Amadeus Piano Academy. 

 

The academy was a successful school with several teachers and she enjoyed serving as the director and head instructor. However, she met her future husband, Eric Hawk, at CSU and they decided to move to Georgia to pursue their doctorate degrees at the University of Georgia, where they were on full assistantships. She taught private lessons and group piano classes at the University of Georgia's Community Music School in Athens, was Professor of Music/Piano at Andrew College in Cuthbert for two years, and was formerly studio manager and instructor at PianoAlpharetta for three years. 

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Dr. D is an active member of Music Teachers National Association, Georgia Music Teachers Association, and the North Fulton Music Teachers Association. She is also the Chair of the Cumming Federation of Music Clubs and was named the 2017 Georgia Federation Festival Chair of the year. In 2014, with her husband, Dr. Eric Hawk, she co-founded the Alpharetta Symphony Orchestra, where she served as the pianist and active board member.

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In 2021, the Hawks created the Symphony Orchestra of North Georgia (SONG), a non-profit community organization, with three ensembles to provide opportunities for youths through adults. Dawn serves as the President, Executive Director, and Education Coordinator, while Eric serves as the Music Director. In SONG, she also plays the piano and has recently picked up playing the bass. 

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As a pianist, she has an active performing career, frequently performing in solo and collaborative events. She has been selected as a performer in the PianoTexas festival and has appeared as soloist with the Colorado State University Symphony Orchestra, the Alpharetta Symphony Orchestra, and Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestra. Dr. D is a member of the Georgia Musicale Group, where she has performed in numerous venues, including Spivey Hall.

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When she is not practicing or teaching, she enjoys yoga, cycling, running, various artistic projects, remodeling her house, and playing with her five labradors, Wall-E, Luna, Aggie, Pippin and Toby - AND - her four bunnies, Lucy, Charlie, Linus and Sally.

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The Hawks have a three-year old daughter, Lilu, who is well on her way to becoming a professional musician. Lilu has perfect pitch and a wonderful sense of rhythm. She is a student in HMA's Toddler Tunes program where she takes voice lessons from Ms. Sally and also takes violin lessons with Mrs. Kristin Jutras, director of the UGA Community Music School in Athens. She has taken piano lessons with Mommy since she was 3 months old :)