Karen Hunt
Composer and Pianist of Tanabata: The Story of Orihime & Hikoboshi

Karen is an improvisational pianist who has honed her skills accompanying Sacramento Ballet company classes for decades. 

Karen’s discovered the joy of dance at Brigham Young University where she registered for modern dance classes. When she realized that pianists were paid to improvise accompaniment, she auditioned and had a student job which was much more interesting than washing dishes or cleaning toilets. She loved pounding out rhythms on student-made drums or playing her alto recorder, as well as the piano. 

After graduating in Theatre Arts, Karen returned home to Sacramento where she began playing for Barbara Crockett at her studios on H Street. Later, she played for Allyson Deane and Don Schwennesen as they opened the Deane Dance Center. 

A few years after Ron Cunningham and Carinne Binda arrived to direct The Sacramento Ballet, Karen auditioned and the “rest is history” as they say. Karen has fond memories of those early years, playing on an antique baby grand on the stage of the Eastern Star Temple ballroom, with young Alexandra and her brother Christopher playing in an adjacent green room while their parents trained the dancers. This was Karen’s introduction to the wonderful world of classical ballet as she was nurtured in her role as class accompanist. 

Karen says “It is a great honor and joy to be invited to collaborate with Kaori in bringing the delightful Tanabata story to life. She is a beautiful person and artist who blesses and makes beautiful all that she touches.”