Kara Hartten from Redding, Conn., began her musical studies at the age of five in her hometown of Redding. She has studied with Drs. Darilyn Manring, Yeon-Ji Yun, and Eric Edberg, as well as performed in master classes with renowned cellists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Matt Haimovitz, Nicholas Photinos, Anna Clift and Laszlo Varga.
After completing both a Bachelor of Music Performance and a Bachelor of Arts in French at DePauw University, Hartten continued her musical and cultural studies in Versailles, France. While taking a French course at the Université Inter-Âges of Versailles, Hartten studied cello with Natalie Jacquet at the Conservatoire d’Evry outside of Paris. Currently, Harttenis pursuing a Master of Music Degree in Cello Performance under Dr. Simona Barbu at UND.
In May of 2014, Hartten performed with UND’s Red River Trio in a tour of China and Japan. In addition to working as the graduate teaching assistant in cello, orchestra and string quartet at UND, Hartten performs with the Greater Grand Forks Symphony and Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestras, as well as works with local music programs and teaches private lessons.