Karla Fournier

Clarinet

Principal

Karla Fournier, has served as the second clarinetist with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra since 1990. Alongside performing with the ASO, Mrs. Fournier enjoyed a distinguished teaching career, teaching at the River Oaks School and the Cole Music Conservatory in Houston, Texas, and retiring from the Conway Public Schools as the Director of Orchestras in 2017 where her ensembles earned top honors in Arkansas and Texas competitions. She has also served as an adjunct clarinet professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia.

A native of Oklahoma, Mrs. Fournier previously served as the principal clarinetist with the Pine Bluff Symphony for twenty-two years and earned her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Houston, Texas. She is married to Dr. Michael Underwood, principal trombonist of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and professor of music at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.