William Hagen — Violin

William Hagen has established himself as one of America’s most compelling young violinists, praised by The Dallas Morning News as a “brilliant virtuoso” and “a standout,” and by Chicago Classical Review for his “glowing tone,” “virtuosic pyrotechnics,” and “poise and maturity.” Since winning Third Prize at the 2015 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels—making him one of the most successful American laureates in the competition’s history—Hagen has appeared as a soloist with many of the world’s great orchestras, including the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Chicago, Frankfurt Radio, and San Francisco symphony orchestras, among others.

Recent highlights include performances at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, and Colburn School, as well as appearances with the Sacramento Philharmonic, Savannah Philharmonic, North Carolina Symphony, Omaha Symphony, and Symphoria in Syracuse, New York. Previous seasons have brought him to Paris, Brussels, and the Ravinia Festival; to Beijing with the Brussels Chamber Orchestra; and to New York with the Jupiter Chamber Players. He has also appeared with the symphony orchestras of Fort Worth, Oregon, Pasadena, Seattle, and Utah, and in chamber collaborations with distinguished artists such as Steven Isserlis, Gidon Kremer, Christian Tetzlaff, and Tabea Zimmermann, at prestigious venues including London’s Wigmore Hall, the Beethovenhaus in Bonn, and Germany’s Chamber Music Connects the World festival. He has worked with conductors including Marin Alsop, Christoph Eschenbach, Ludovic Morlot, Matthias Pintscher, Nicholas McGegan, and Hugh Wolff.

A native of Salt Lake City, Hagen made his debut with the Utah Symphony at age nine. He studied with Natalie Reed and Deborah Moench before enrolling at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, where he studied with Robert Lipsett. He went on to study with Itzhak Perlman at The Juilliard School, later returning to Colburn to continue with Lipsett. He has also participated in leading international training programs, including the Verbier Festival Academy, The Perlman Music Program, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Kronberg Academy in Germany.

William Hagen performs on the 1732 “Arkwright Lady Rebecca Sylvan” Stradivarius, generously on loan from the Rachel Barton Pine Foundation.