Today, we’d like to introduce you to William Hagen.
Hi William, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I come from a family with no background in the classical music, so I came to this career purely through loving the violin and the music. I heard the violin at church when I was three and liked it so much that I started begging my parents for a violin! I got a violin when I was four and somehow lucked into studying with the best teachers here, Natalie Reed and Deborah Moench. I decided to try out for the Utah Symphony’s Salute to Youth concert when I was 8, and I was both surprised and thrilled when I won a spot in the concert!
Playing with the Symphony and having some success showed me that I could take this more seriously, so it was from that point on that I started practicing with the goal of being a concert violinist someday. I started flying to LA every week for a lesson at the Colburn School with the famous teacher Robert Lipsett. I was starting to solo with more orchestras and meet more people in the music world, which started when I was ten and continued through high school. I went to Juilliard for two years to study with my hero, Itzhak Perlman and then returned to Colburn in LA to prepare for big international competitions.
I won third prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels in 2015 and got signed by a management company due to the exposure from the televised performances I gave at the competition. That was the start of my professional career.
After that, my wife and I moved to Germany and had a great time living in Europe for about a year and a half. At this point, I didn’t see us moving back to SLC; I was thinking we’d end up in London, Paris, Berlin, New York…a big cultural capital. Then my wife got a job in SLC, and we moved back, and I quickly realized how much I love Utah and also how fantastic it is to be based here as a traveling artist. We have the best airport, the most beautiful views, a truly world-class orchestra, and some of the best concert halls in the country. I can’t wait to see what happens here in the next decade. I think the future here is bright.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Of course, it does not seem like it’s been a smooth road to me at all. I’ve dealt with many rejection, missed opportunities, crises of confidence, etc. Being a gigging musician is a constant struggle–you never “arrive” or get tenure.
You have to prove yourself repeatedly, which can be very difficult and maddening at times. That being said, I would be lying or ignorant if I didn’t recognize how incredibly fortunate I’ve been so many times on this journey, and getting to do what I love is a real gift.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a classical concert violinist, so I travel around the country and the world playing some of the best music ever written! I love it. I’m most proud of the effort I put into trying to be a storyteller through the music. The physical difficulty of playing the notes can sometimes distract from portraying all the incredible emotions of a great piece of music.
There’s a danger of falling into the trap of executing a plan and obsessing over getting things “right” rather than really *playing* the music. A teacher told me something that stuck with me: we aren’t just musicians. We’re also actors. That short little line has stuck with me for years and has become central to how I think about what I do. I try to approach playing a piece by Mozart in the same way I imagine an actor approaches a new play.
I need to know my lines, but more than that, I need to be conscious of how I’m performing those lines for the audience: which syllable is most interesting in a word, which word is most interesting in a sentence, and which sentences are most important in the play.
What makes you happy?
Playing a great piece of music can bring a sense of deep fulfillment and happiness that few other things can, but what makes me happiest is my wife, Andrea, our darling baby boy, our dog, and all of our family. I’m also completely obsessed with nature, and living in Utah is an absolute gift to a nature lover.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.williamhagen.com/
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/album/0BR39lQh40aQhbPo5jtQAs?si=Bl0hH5TnRSm9IRUmaO0wmA
Image Credits
Abigel Kralek Photography
