Nathan Hackett, viola

          Nathan Hackett is a member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He was Principal Violist of the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra for the last 7 years of its existence and was Principal Violist of the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra for 15 years. 

 

          Hackett is a founding member of the Philomusica String Quartet, resident string quartet of Wisconsin Lutheran College. Highlights from their first eight seasons include a rare performance of the Bartok Piano Quintet, the entire Beethoven cycle, radio broadcasts on Chicago’s WFMT and a performance at Yale University. They have collaborated with many leading musicians from the Milwaukee and Chicago area such as Mathiue Dufore, Principal Flute, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Susan Babini, Principal Cellist of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Winston Choi, piano department head, Roosevelt University. 

 

          The Philomusica Quartet is also featured on a recently released  recording of the complete works for clarinet by composer, James Grant, performing his Sextet for Strings and Bass Clarinet with MSO colleagues William Helmers and Zachary Cohen  

 

          Since 2002 Hackett has been the violist with the Washington Island Music Festival; an annual, summer chamber music festival in Northern 
Wisconsin comprised of players from The Milwaukee, Chicago, St. Louis and Colorado symphonies. From 1992-2001 he was the Principal Violist of the Woodstock Mozart Festival where his frequent chamber music partner had been Russian violin virtuoso, Mark Peskanov.

 

          Hackett is also a sought after teacher,  having guided talented high school violists to successful auditions at some of the nation’s top music schools. He is a coach with the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra and has held faculty positions with the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and Carroll University.  

 

          Hackett received training in orchestral and chamber music performance at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee under the tutelage of the world renowned, Fine Arts Quartet. Other influential teachers have been Peter Slowik and Burton Kaplan.