Natalie Darst Xia

Natalie Darst Xia, a Fulbright–Harriet Hale Woolley Fellow for the 2024–2025 academic year, is pursuing her violin studies at the École Normale de Musique de Paris–Alfred Cortot. A four-time recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation Scholarship, she has performed as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player in France, Switzerland, and the United States. Passionate about promoting Franco-American cultural exchange, Natalie enjoys connecting artists through her work as a violinist and as a cultural project coordinator.

She has been a fellow of Spoleto Festival USA, the Sarasota Music Festival, the New York String Orchestra Seminar at Carnegie Hall, the Aspen Music Festival, the American Art Schools of Fontainebleau (EAAF), and the Riviera Music Academy directed by Pierre Amoyal. A dedicated orchestral musician, she has served as concertmaster of the Spoleto Festival Orchestra USA, the Mannes Orchestra, and the Boston University Symphony Orchestra.

As a cultural project coordinator, Natalie serves on the boards of the Fontainebleau associations in the United States and spends her summers as Assistant Program Director of the American Conservatory of the Écoles de Fontainebleau, based at the Château de Fontainebleau. She previously held the position of Assistant Orchestra Personnel Manager at Spoleto Festival USA.

Natalie holds a Bachelor of Music with honors and a Master of Music from the Mannes School of Music, where she was awarded the President’s Scholarship. She also holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Boston University. Natalie has studied with Sally Thomas (The Juilliard School), Todd Phillips (Orpheus Chamber Orchestra), Nancy Wu (Associate Concertmaster, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra), and Lucia Lin (Boston Symphony Orchestra).