SoNA Announces New Senior Staff Position
Symphony of Northwest Arkansas Appoints Natalie Fernandez as Music Education Director
FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. (September 20, 2022) — The Symphony of Northwest Arkansas (SoNA) is delighted to announce the creation of a new senior staff position and the appointment of Natalie Fernandez to the role of Music Education Director of SoNA, effective this month.
In her new role as Music Education Director, Fernandez will lead SoNA’s educational outreach endeavors. She will oversee and implement existing programs like SoNA Mentors, which sends teaching artists out into Northwest Arkansas schools to both perform and coach local music students. Previously SoNA Mentors included strings, and now under Fernandez’ leadership, with support from the Walmart Foundation, will expand to also include woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Fernandez will also oversee and manage educational outreach performances and experiences, ranging from large orchestral performances to smaller creative chamber music performances and collaborations aimed at inspiring and engaging young minds.
A significant focus of the Music Education Director position will also be to continue the expansion of SoNA’s outreach efforts and to develop new programs aimed at serving youth populations that are under-resourced in arts education. Through all of this SoNA is committed to equitably cultivating the next generation of artists, leaders, audiences, and culturally-aware citizens. The organization looks forward to announcing future program updates.
“We had an incredible pool of candidates for this position, and Natalie Fernandez clearly rose to the top,” said D. Riley Nicholson, SoNA Executive Director. “Natalie’s deep experience in leading music programs in school districts both small and large, as well as her palpable passion and ambition to inspire young musicians made her the perfect candidate for Education Director. She has a clear vision for what it means to create impact through music for all children regardless of background or resources, and I am honored to have her as a colleague.”
“We are excited to welcome Natalie to the SoNA team as we expand our educational outreach endeavors under her leadership,” added Ben Harris, SoNA General Manager. “Natalie brings a wealth of experience, knowledge, and passion to the role of Education Director and we feel incredibly fortunate to have her join the organization.”
This position is made possible by a generous gift from SoNA board member Marti Sudduth and Kelly Sudduth.
For additional information regarding SoNA senior staff and board leadership, click here.
About Natalie Fernandez
Natalie Fernandez has 16 years of teaching experience, with the most recent decade spent as a 6th grade beginning band director at Ruth Barker Middle School and Bright Field Middle School in Bentonville, Arkansas. Her teaching career began in her home state of Oklahoma, where she was an assistant director and percussion director in the Sand Springs and Skiatook Public School districts. Her percussion ensembles and student solos consistently earned Superior ratings at both the district and state levels. Natalie’s passions as an educator focused on giving students the tools and the confidence needed to experience success on an instrument, and fostering an environment where students feel they can belong. She brings her classroom experience, authenticity, love for details, and a core value of creativity to this new role with SoNA, as she hopes to continue to grow and advocate for equity and access to music education for students of all backgrounds across the Northwest Arkansas region. Natalie has a degree in Music Education from Oklahoma State University.
Since moving to Bentonville in 2012, Natalie and her husband Nick have carved out a beautiful life for themselves and their three dog children: Libby, Lucy, and Snoop. They’ve recently added a feathered friend to the family, Chet Beaker, a green parakeet. Natalie’s hobbies include running her stained-glass business Glass Soul Creations, tap dancing, kickboxing, and visiting National Parks.
About SoNA
The Symphony of Northwest Arkansas (SoNA) is the region’s leading professional orchestra. Under the musical direction of Maestro Paul Haas, SoNA presents dynamic and diverse symphonic performances to an audience of more than 20,000 people annually. In its 68th season, the nonprofit has led artistic and educational programming throughout Northwest Arkansas since 1954. SoNA is a resident company of Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville. Through its partnerships across the region, SoNA also frequently appears at locations such as the Walmart AMP, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Momentary, Ballet Arkansas, John Brown University, the University of Arkansas, the Bentonville Film Festival, and Fayetteville Roots Festival, at area schools and libraries, and other partner locations.