Hasso Wontolla keeps a busy schedule playing and conducting concerts and has recently been writing music for film and feature productions in Canada and the USA. He frequently conducts in Italy, Germany, Scandinavia and the UK and in 2016 he conducted his own production of Bizet’s Carmen in Canada with TSO as well as a production of A Midsummer Nights Dream.
Hasso Wontolla was appointed 1st principal cellist of Berlin Symphony Orchestra in 1993 and has been a treasured guest principal cellist of BBC orchestras in England and Scotland, Scottish Opera, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and German and Scandinavian symphony orchestras.
As a regular soloist with orchestras in Europe he has performed with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, New Berlin Chamber Orchestra, Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra, Iceland Symphony, Aarhus Symphony, South Jutland Symphony, TSO and major Orchestras in Scandinavia in collaboraton with conductors such as Roberto Abbado, Hans Graf, Ari Rasileinen, Jorma Panula, Michael Schonwandt, Giordano Bellincampi, Marcello Viotti, Aldo Ceccato, Frank Shipway, Kimbo Ishi-Eto and many more.
He has recorded over 30 CD’s as a soloist, conductor and chamber musician for several labels including EMI, RCA, Colombia, DACAPO, Classico, DR, Naxos, BIS, Danacord, Etcetera, Edel, Rondo and Voice of America.
For over 12 years he was a member of the Kontra Quartet who recorded over 40 CD’s with most of the string repertoire, performed for Radio and TV in over 30 countries and received a number of recording prizes including the MIDEM award in Cannes.
His chamber music colleagues include Michaela Fukacova, Ulf Hoelscher, Veronica McSwiney, Melos Quartet, I Fiamminghi, Gordon Hunt, Felix Schwartz, Thomas Martin amongst many others.
Hasso Wontolla is a sought after for his public Master Classes, known for being hugely inspirational for both students and audience alike. He has been coaching students all over the world, In the UK he has given very successful classes and string ensembles and given performance classes at RNCM, Chethams School, Oxford Cello School, Orchestra Da Camera and Birmingham Conservatoire and has coached National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and Muscat Royal Philharmonic. Many of his students have won prizes and awards and have highly successful careers.
He is the founder of the Mariot Masterclasses in France and the NBC Strings Academy in Canada.
He has been awarded several honours decorations by HM Queen Margrethe II and has received over 40 Prizes and Awards including the Royal Philharmonic Award (1995), Wilhelm Hansen Award (2000), Music Critics Award (2000) and is the only musician twice to receive the prestigious Jacob Gade Award (1987 and 1992).