“The Symphony of Northwest Arkansas (SoNA) has named D. Riley Nicholson as its executive director,” writes Jeff Della Rosa in Tuesday’s (8/11) Talk Business & Politics (Arkansas). “The arts administrator, composer and musician will start in the role Aug. 18. Nicholson replaces former executive director Matthew Herren, who left in June to serve as executive director of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania.… The Hot Springs native most recently resided in San Francisco and has a Master of Music in composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, a Bachelor of Music in percussion performance and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of Memphis…. Before joining SoNA, Nicholson was project manager for the Center for New Music in San Francisco [and] marketing consultant for Dance Film SF (San Francisco Dance Film Festival)…. Nicholson also is a pianist and has composed and performed for multiple ensembles and venues…. SoNA, a resident company of the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, has performed at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion (AMP), Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, John Brown University, the University of Arkansas, the Bentonville Film Festival and the Fayetteville Roots Festival.”