About Andrew
A “poised young musician,” Andrew Hatfield has been performing throughout the United States and abroad for many years as a violinist and violist, appearing on stages as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player with both modern and period instruments.
Andrew began his studies at age 8 in Frankenmuth, Michigan under the tutelage of violin pedagogue Leslie Adams Wimsatt, with whom he studied the Suzuki Method, as well as etudes by Schradiek, Sevçik, Mazas, Kayser, Hoffmann, Kreutzer, and Fiorillo. After several years performing and touring with the Flint Youth Symphony Orchestra and performing many solo recitals, Andrew furthered his musical education with Dr. Takeshi Abo at age 15. At this time, he joined the Alma Symphony Orchestra and performed with the Michigan Youth Arts Festival Honors and All-State Orchestras. He continued to study etudes by Dont, Rode, and Paganini, as well as solo works by Bach, Mozart, Wieniawski, Bruch, and Kreisler.
At age 17, Andrew was admitted into Central Michigan University on full fellowship, and became a regular member of the Midland Symphony Orchestra. He earned a Bachelor of Music studying violin under Dr. Seunghee Lee, Dr. Fangye Sun, and Detroit Symphony Orchestra Assistant Concertmaster Hai Xin Wu, as well as viola and chamber music under David Holland. He also participated in masterclasses with Elena Urioste, Pip Clarke, Ilya Kaler, Nick Kendall, Robert Chen, Yoonshin Song, and Kimberly Kennedy, as well as chamber groups such as San Francisco String Quartet, Harlem String Quartet, and others.
Andrew continued his graduate studies at Michigan State University, earning a Masters of Music and Doctorate of Musical Arts (currently All-But-Dissertation, ABD) with professor I-Fu Wang. Additionally, he has spent time studying a variety of other musical disciplines, including a variety of fiddle musics from around the world and performing mariachi and huapango trios in Mexico with El Ballet Folklórico Estudiantil. He has also performed in a wide array of stage productions including operas, oratorios, ballet, and musical theater. Recently, in 2019, Andrew performed as a violinist and violist in nine productions with the College Light Opera Company in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, followed by a premier of a new musical by Benedict Braxton-Smith, Dr. Fox and the Impossible Cure for Death at the Wharton Center.
In addition to the premier of Dr. Fox, Andrew is an advocate of new music and has commissioned and premiered works by composers Andrew Cote and Matthew Sullivan, among others. In addition to his participation in the Central Michigan University New Music Ensemble and Michigan State University Musiq21, Andrew also served as an administrator to the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble: Theater of Music during their 2018 season, including the premier of their binaural production, The Gray Cat and the Flounder.
An avid researcher, Andrew has most recently taken an active interest in early music and period instruments, performing as a baroque violinist in Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, and at the 2019 Musicking Conference at the University of Oregon. His teachers and masterclass appearances include Jane Starkman, Andrew Fouts, Elizabeth Blumenstock, Susanne Scholz, Lindsey Strand-Polyak, Rebel, and Alana Youssefian. Currently, he is pursuing his Doctorate of Historical Performance Practices in baroque violin at Case Western Reserve University, studying with Julie Andrijeski.
Andrew performs on a 2001 Francesco Toto violin with modern bows by Anthony DiMambro and Rodney Mohr, and period bows by Anthony DiMambro, Katherine Mohr, David Hawthorne, and Kate Buehler-McWilliams.
