Natalie V Spehar has made her mark as a genre-bending electric and acoustic cellist, writer, arranger and creative educator. 

Recognized for her versatile skill set, Natalie has performed live with artists including Disturbed, Cage the Elephant, 2 Cellos, Josh Groban, Sarah Brightman, Little River Band, Dessa, Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith, Johnny Mathis, Michael Bolton, Il Volo, Charly Bliss, Japanese Breakfast, Chris Pinnella, Donovan, Amanda Palmer, Michael Bublé, the Trans Siberian Orchestra and the Hadestown Broadway First National Tour.

Natalie is the Founder & Leader of NV Strings, a virtuosic, multi-genre ensemble that specializes in touring and session work. Natalie also is the owner of Upstate Strings, a popular event music co serving the Finger Lakes, NYC and Toronto areas.

As a solo electric cellist, Natalie is a current NS Design Artist and has been featured at luxury events and product releases, including special events for Kendra Scott, and Bacardi’s holiday pop-up series for The Plaza Hotel in NYC. As a classical soloist, Natalie’s concerto appearances include collaborations with the Graham Reynolds Ensemble at The Kennedy Center, Mount St. Mary’s Orchestra, Londontowne Symphony Orchestra, the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, The University of Maryland and the Canton Symphony Orchestra. Her professional solo recital appearances include features at Spectrum NYC, Canton Cultural Center for the Arts and American University. 

Natalie is also an active composer and studio recording artist, working most recently with Johan Lenox, Ally Salort (Universal), Delanie Leclerc, Lauren Spencer Smith (Universal), The Young Romans, Tyga (RCA), MyCompiledThoughts, Starbucks artist Jesse Thomas, singer/songwriter Brad Carter (Red Parade Music), and producer D.A. Doman (RCA Records). Her playing appears in the soundtrack for the major motion pictures Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse and Decoding Annie Parker, as well as the television documentary Through the Eye of the Needle and the award-winning animated short film Test Anxiety, for which Natalie composed and recorded the original score. Natalie’s own original songs (available on Apple Music) have been utilized for live theater and dance soundtracks and were chosen for feature in Maryland’s SHE/THEY art festival.

Natalie is a graduate of Eastman School of Music (BM’ Cello Performance & Arts Leadership) and the University of Maryland (MM’ Music Performance). An avid supporter of new music, Natalie has presented over 50 world premiere performances, including works by Zoe Keating, Sarah Lipstate, Cornelius Duffallo, Hannah Lash, and famed Syrian recording artist Malek Jandali. She served as the principal cellist of D.C.’s Great Noise Ensemble for 8 years and a member of multiple-grant-winning new music trio Rogue Collective, who have been featured guest performers multiple times on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series. Natalie also performed as the cellist of Montreal-based trio Écouter for several years, during which the group completed successful U.S. and European tours, was awarded a Canadian cultural grant, and enjoyed features on NPR Radio as well as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

As a valued educator, Natalie has traveled to perform & lecture on her work in string performance with electronics at universities across the United States, and has served as an adjunct faculty member in Music & Arts at Mount St Mary's University. Her “ALT-C” Alternative Cello Workshop series is available online worldwide. 

With a strong interest in arts leadership, Natalie has worked closely with Young Audiences, Inc. and Music 4 Life, and served for years promoting music education and outreach as a part of Annapolis Young Artists Program (Founder/Director), ArtReach (Director), and the national MacDowell Music Club (Performing Member).