Mark Hatlestad is a violist and Minnesota native. Mark is an avid performer, music educator, and advocate for contemporary music. He has appeared in festivals across the globe, including the Sommerakadamie Leutkirch in Germany, the Keshet Eilon Summer Master Course in Israel, as well as the Chautaqua Summer Music Festival in New York. Mark completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at the Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, where he studied viola performance with Atar Arad and Edward Gazouleas. During his time in Bloomington, Mark worked closely with Steve Wyrczynski, Peter Stumpf, Kevork Mardirossian, Mark Kaplan, Stanley Ritchie and members of the Pacifica Quartet. Believing in the importance of contemporary music, Mark collaborated with several student composers at IU, and served as principal viola for the IU New Music Ensemble under Dr. David Dzubay. In addition to performing, Mark studied string pedagogy with Mimi Zweig and Dr. Brenda Brenner, and worked as an assistant teacher for the IU Summer String Academy and the Fairview Violin Project, a program that gives free violin lessons to underprivileged elementary-school students. Other important teachers and mentors include Roland Glassl, Aaron Janse, and the Artaria String Quartet.

Mark has been a member of the Evansville Philharmonic since 2014, and is excited to have the opportunity to greater serve the Tri-State Area.