Nohema Fernández

Nohema Fernández (born May 23, 1944) is a Cuban-born American pianist.

Born in Havana, Fernández began her studies at the Conservatorio Internacional in that city, debuting at the Teatro Nacional when she was sixteen years old. With her brother she came to the United States via Operation Peter Pan, arriving in 1961; their parents followed them nearly a year later. She continued her musical studies in the United States, working with Adolph Baller and Vronsky & Babin.[1] She graduated with a BM in piano from DePaul University in 1965 and received her MM, also in piano, from Northwestern University the following year[2] before receiving a DMA in 1983 from Stanford University. Her American debut came four years later at the Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall. During her career she has appeared in such venues as the Concertgebouw Klein Zaal in Amsterdam and the Brahmssaal of the Musikverein in Vienna, and has performed as soloist with orchestras throughout the United States. A noted champion of piano music by Spanish and Latin American composers, she received the NEA Solo Recitalist Fellowship in 1990 and La Rosa Blanca from the Patronato José Martí (Los Angeles) in 1996.[1]

From 1990 to 2001 Fernández was a professor of music in the School of Music and Dance at the University of Arizona; in 2000 she was named interim head of the media arts department in the College of Fine Arts at that institution.[3] She is currently the Dean of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at the University of California, Irvine.[2]

A recording by Fernández of the Berceuse Campesina by Alejandro García Caturla was included in the soundtrack of the film The Lost City at the request of its director, Andy García.[1]