Mark Hatlestad is the Principal Violist of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, a member of the Eykamp String Quartet, and is an Artist in Residence at the University of Evansville since his appointment to the position in 2018. A Minnesota native, Mark began playing violin at the age of 4, before switching to viola when he was 12. Mark is a graduate of Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music (B.M. 15, M.M. 17), where he studied viola performance with Atar Arad and Edward Gazouleas. At IU, Mark studied chamber music with Peter Stumpf, Kevork Madirossian, Mark Kaplan, Stephen Wyrczynski and members of the Pacifica Quartet. An advocate of contemporary music, Mark served as Principal Viola of Indiana University’s New Music ensemble under David Dzubay.

Mark studied violin and viola pedagogy with Mimi Zwieg and Brenda Brenner, and served as an assistant instructor at the Indiana University Summer String Academy and in the Fairview Violin Project. Outside of IU, Mark has participated and performed in masterclasses across the world, including studies with Rolland Glassl and Rolland Vamos. Mark is also Principal Violist of the Owensboro Symphony, and was recently appointed Conductor of the Owensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra.