Margrét Hjaltested

Violist and violinist Margrét Hjaltested, originally from Iceland, enjoys a diverse career as a performer and teacher in New York City.  She has performed at notable venues ranging from Carnegie Hall, Avery Fischer Hall at Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Philharmonie Cologne, Tokyo´s Suntory Hall to the Apollo and Beacon Theatres.  Margrét has played with orchestras such as the Albany Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony, South Florida Symphony and Westchester Philharmonic.  As a baroque violist, Margrét performs with The American Classical Orchestra, Dryden Ensemble and the Bach Players at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in NYC.  Margrét has toured internationally both with chamber groups and orchestras including the New York Symphonic Ensemble on its annual tour of the Far East, the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, Luciano Pavarotti´s International Farewell Tour and with the award-winning Icelandic pop artist Björk. She has recorded with many of today’s popular artists, including Aretha Franklin and Tony Bennett. In live performances, Margrét has played with artists from Itzhak Perlman and Garrick Ohlsson to Donna Summer and Paul McCartney.  Her many television appearances have included the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night Show with David Letterman, Live! with Regis & Kelly and live broadcast from the historic October 2001 concert, “The Concert for New York City” at Madison Square Garden.  Margrét is a member of the chamber ensemble, Chamber16.  She is on the faculty of Queens College and SummerKeys in Lubec, Maine.  As a dedicated teacher and coach of amateur musicians, Margrét maintains a private violin/viola studio for adults in Queens, New York.  She is a graduate of the Reykjavík College of Music, the Juilliard School and the Mannes College of Music. Margrét has received the American Scandinavian Society´s Cultural Award for her musical contributions to the Scandinavian communities of New York and New Jersey.