Selected as a Project Inclusion Administrative Fellow with the Chicago Sinfonietta for the 2021-2022 season, Colombian born Paula Martinez-Marrugo was recently appointed as Program Coordinator for The People’s Music School in Chicago for both of their Uptown and Back of the Yards locations.
With a passion for music and administration, Ms. Martinez-Marrugo is carving a career in the arts with a focus on organizations that promote inclusion and diversity. Her experiences coordinating and managing student and faculty concerts as a Senior Counselor at Camp Encore-Coda in Sweden, Maine, serving as a Teaching Assistant and Graduate Assistant at the University of Southern Mississippi, as a Supervised Study Coordinator at the Louisiana School for the Maths, Science and the Arts (where she closely worked with the Academic Services Department and high school students), and a bassoon teacher at Mississippi’s Petal Middle School led to her interest in arts administration.
As a professional bassoonist, Martinez-Marrugo has performed with different orchestras, bands, and chamber groups around Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. She has also served as a private bassoon instructor, music theory teacher, and chamber music coach for middle school, high school, and college students.
Martinez-Marrugo holds degrees in both Business Administration and Music Performance from Northwestern State University. She recently graduated with a master’s degree in bassoon performance and a minor in music education from the University of Southern Mississippi.