Cellist Jean Hatmaker has joined the music faculty at Elmhurst College, where she will serve as professor of cello.

Hatmaker is the cellist and founding member of the Kontras Quartet, the resident string quartet with the Western Piedmont Symphony of Hickory, North Carolina, and the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra.

With Kontras Quartet, Hatmaker has performed in chamber series all across the east and midwest, as well as live performances on Charlotte’s NBC affiliate and public radio WDAV, and has a long-standing collaborative relationship with nationally-acclaimed bluegrass trio the Kruger Brothers, performing with them on PBS and on the Doc Watson stage of MerleFest 2013.

Hatmaker has an extensive background of ensemble playing, having been principal cellist of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and Symphony Orchestra Augusta, section player for the South Bend Symphony, Elmhurst Symphony, Illinois Symphony and Richmond Symphony Orchestras, as well as performing contemporary music with Indiana University’s prestigious New Music Ensemble.