Mark Hatlestad is a member of the Eykamp String Quartet, the Principal Violist of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, and as an Artist in Residence at the University of Evansville since his appointment to the position in 2018. As a member of the Quartet, Mark helps organize the “New Traditions Series”, which provides free performances of underrepresented music at non-traditional venues throughout Southern Indiana. Mark also serves as Principal Violist of the Owensboro Symphony and regularly performs with Nashville Symphony and Louisville Orchestra.

As a teacher, Mark has served as the Conductor of the Owensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra since 2023 and runs a private viola studio at the UE Music Conservatory and Owensboro Symphony Academy.

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 and mentors include Brad Johnson, Margaret Haviland, the Ataria String Quartet, and Aaron Janse.