About

Violist Margrét Hjaltested enjoys a diverse career as a performer and teacher. Born in Reykjavik, Iceland, she is currently based in New York City.

She is a founding member and co-director of the baroque ensemble, Queens Consort, and a founding member of the Icelandic chamber group, Tríó Fókus.

Margrét has been a recitalist and chamber musician in concerts at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center, and the Tenri Gallery.

She has played with many orchestras, including the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the American Composers Orchestra, the Albany Symphony, and as a baroque violist Margrét has performed with The American Classical Orchestra, Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity and Concert Royal.

She has toured internationally with the New York Symphonic Ensemble on its annual tour of the Far East, the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, Luciano Pavarotti´s International Farewell Tour, and the Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk.

Margrét has performed and recorded with many popular artists, including Aretha Franklin, Tony Bennett, and Paul McCartney.

Her many television appearances include the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the Late Night Show with David Letterman, and Live! with Regis & Kelly, the historic broadcast at Madison Square Garden in October 2001 'The Concert for New York City'.

Margrét is currently on the faculty of Queens College, SummerKeys in Lubec, Maine, and directs a program for elementary school violinists in New York. She is a popular chamber music workshop coordinator and string coach in the Tri-State Region and New England.

She received a Bachelor of Music from The Juilliard School and a Master of Music from Mannes College of Music. Her principal teachers were Karen Tuttle, Karen Ritscher, Joey Corpus, and for historical performance, Nancy Wilson and Albert Fuller.

Margrét has received the American Scandinavian Society Cultural Award for her musical contributions to the Scandinavian communities in New York and New Jersey.