D. Riley Nicholson is the new executive director of the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas. He was chosen as SoNa’s executive director after a national search conducted by Aspen Leadership Group and overseen by the SoNa board of directors.
“It’s wonderful to return to my home state to accept this position,” Nicholson said in a press release. “I’m profoundly honored for this chance to lead SoNA into its next chapter. Given Northwest Arkansas’ remarkable engagement with the arts, the visionary artistic leadership of SoNA Music Director Paul Haas, the talent of the musicians, and a fiercely loyal and ever-growing SoNA fan base, we are in a unique position to have an increasingly extraordinary artistic impact.”
Nicholson is originally from Hot Springs, but his professional career has taken him all over the country. As a composer, musician and producer, he has composed and performed with a wide range of ensembles, including the David Herrera Performance Company, Switchboard Music, Amaranth Quartet and many more.
Prior to joining SoNa, he served as project manager for the Center for New Music in San Francisco, marketing consultant for Dance Film SF (the San Francisco Dance Film Festival) and as a member of the board of directors of the Berkeley Ballet Theater and Post:Ballet.
“Riley is an impressive person who has achieved incredible things at an early age,” SoNA Music Director Paul Haas said. “The fact that he’s forward-thinking, and that we share similar ideas about how to bring classical orchestral music into the 21st century, makes me think we’re looking at a new golden age for SoNA, as well as for the arts in Northwest Arkansas.”
Nicholson earned a bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Memphis, a master’s in composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a bachelor’s in percussion performance.
Heather Buckley and Aaron Brewer have joined SixtyOne Celsius ad agency in Hot Springs. Buckley is joining as art director and Brewer as a photographer.
Buckley has previously been employed as art director of Hot Springs Life & Home magazine and Inviting Arkansas magazine in Little Rock. Brewer is the owner of Aaron Brewer Photography.
Jeremy Williams has been elected vice president of the Arkansas Urban Forestry Council in Little Rock.
Williams is the owner of Tree Climbers LLC, based in Fayetteville, and the only ISA board-certified master in Arkansas. He has been a certified arborist since 2009 and a certified climber specialist since 2010.
Bethany Swindell and Clara Carroll have been named to the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission. Swindell is an instructor at Arkansas Tech University and Carroll is the associate dean of Harding University’s Cannon-Clary College of Education.
See more of this week’s Movers & Shakers, and submit your own announcement at ArkansasBusiness.com/Movers.
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