Mark Hatlestad is a member of the Eykamp String Quartet, the Principal Violist of the Evansville Philharmonic, and an Artist-in-Residence at the University of Evansville since his appointment to the position in 2018. As a member of the Quartet, Mark helped create the New Traditions Series, where he has performed the work of over 50 underrepresented composers in non-traditional venues throughout the region. Mark has served as Principal Violist of the Owensboro Symphony since 2019, and regularly performs as a substitute in the Nashville Symphony and Louisville Orchestra.

As a teacher, Mark has served as the Conductor of the Owensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra since 2023, and he runs a private studio for young violists in Evansville and Owensboro.

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. As a Minnesota native, his formative teachers include Brad Johnson, Margaret Haviland, Ray Shows, Manny Laureano, and Aaron Janse.