Violinist Hilary Castle maintains an active schedule as an ensemble musician, soloist, and teacher. “The electric energy behind Hilary’s playing is indescribable … She breathes life into the music and personifies it in a way that would shame those who thought this music could ever be boring.”

Hilary has played with a diversity of groups as the substitute Concertmaster of the American Pops Orchestra, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, String Orchestra of New York, onstage violin/fiddle on Broadway to performances and recordings with American violinist and composer Mark O'Connor, Rhonda Vincent, Natalie Grant, Jacqueline Schwab, Mandy Gonzalez, Ricardo Morales, award-winning jazz vocalist Allan Harris, Thalia, Danish singer/songwriter Oh Land and Bonobo. In 2017, Hilary made her Broadway debut as the onstage violin/fiddle understudy in "Bright Star", a musical by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell. 

Recent performances have taken her to Carnegie Hall, The United Nations, Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher and Alice Tully Halls, The Town Hall in New York City,  Bargemusic and Radio City Music Hall.  Performances and projects have been featured in TimeOut New York, the New York Times, New York Daily News, The New Yorker Magazine, BUST magazine, The Day, Westerly Sun, on Sirius Radio’s Linked with Peter Cummings, and on MNN Television’s Minding Your Business. 

Hilary earned a B.M. from Boston University’s College of Fine Arts and The Royal College of Music, and a Masters of Music and Professional Studies Diploma from Mannes College, studying with Lucie Robert.  For three seasons she served as concertmaster of the Mannes Opera Orchestra under the direction of Metropolitan Opera conductor Joseph Colaneri.  Other notable orchestral experiences have taken her to Symphony Hall in Boston, the Sydney Opera House, the Rudofinum/Dvorak Hall in Prague, and Pesti Vigado in Budapest.  Hilary also has appeared in chamber and solo recitals at the Morgan Library in New York City, New York Historical Society, New York Public Library, U.N. German Consulate General, Ukrainian Institute of America, Bargemusic, Nabi Gallery, and the Colony Club.  Summer music festivals have included MusicAlp in Courchevel, France, Casalmaggiore in Italy, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Tanglewood Institute, and the Texas Music Festival where she served multiple seasons as Concertmaster under the direction of conductors Christoph Campestri and Stefan Sanderling

Inspired by the birth of her son and co-founder's daughter in 2017, Hilary recently co-founded and developed a renown concert series for children and families based, Little Mozart Foundation and Mozart for Munchkins. The series has partnered with Lincoln Center and Lincoln Center Kids. In its third season, the series presented over 100 sold out concerts in several New York City schools and performance halls and has a presence in Boston, MA and San Francisco, CA. The series fuses two of Hilary's greatest passions: music performances and children. 

In 2020, Hilary joined the faculty at Bow and Heart, a program dedicated to providing ensemble opportunities to string students in New York City (and beyond) through thoughtfully curated monthly in-person and virtual seminars, masterclasses and workshops.

Alongside a bustling freelance schedule, Hilary maintains an in-demand private virtual teaching studio based in New York City and teaches strings at The Shining Mountain Waldorf School in Boulder, CO.  


Hilary plays an 1815 Giovanni Baptista Ceruti violin, on loan from a generous benefactor

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