We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shelby Mattingly. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shelby below.

Shelby , appreciate you joining us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

Inside the Orchestra was certainly not alone as an arts organization faced with severe challenges throughout the COVID pandemic. But we definitely faced unique challenges as an organization that historically provided large scale, immersive and interactive programs for young children (frequently below vaccination age). From the very start, it was clear that business was not going to be as usual for us for a very long time. First to close, last to open.

However, it was clear from the moment we started canceling programming in March 2020 that “going dark” could not be the answer for us. For years, we had been telling people how critical music is to children – that it’s an essential part of their lives and their educational experiences, from a very early age. So when COVID shut down all of our ways of operating, we knew we had to figure out a way to keep the light on. And we had no idea what we would be starting.

What began with daily emails giving parents and teachers ways to engage with music and art at home changed into bringing our entire season of programs online, creating online musical games and activities for kids in schools (online or in-person) and at home. We filmed hundreds of hours of videos, created hundreds of activities, lesson plans, games and resources, and did whatever we had to do to bring music to kids from home – including hosting Zooms for kids in Europe when that meant being at the office in Denver at 2:00AM!

At the beginning of COVID, Inside the Orchestra was a Denver nonprofit organization, bringing programs to kids in metro Denver and nowhere else. Since we took our programming virtual in March 2020, we have seen kids use it online all over Colorado, the country and the world. We have heard from teachers in France, in Australia, in Canada, and more. We went from having about 20,000 people on our website in a year to having over 1.3 million users on our website.

During that time, as we provided primarily free programming to schools and families who needed ways to bring music to kids in these strange times, we saw multiple sources of income that we have historically relied on plummet. We were short-staffed, and the staff members who were working were doing so from home basements and even from a closet (the best way for our Program Director to hide from her three year old daughter so she could get work done during lockdown).

The past two years have been incredibly hard and incredibly rewarding. I’ve never been more challenged as a creative and also never been more grateful to be one.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I have been with Inside the Orchestra since 2012 and at first it might seem like an odd fit to some. I had not had experience in the orchestra world before accepting the Executive Director job at IO. But I love music, of all kinds, and I knew the transformational power it can have for kids and the community as a whole.

I benefitted tremendously from arts education as a child. It truly changed my life – helping me grow from the kid hiding in the library during lunch out of anxiety and shyness, to a kid willing to step on stage and be vulnerable with the world. I knew when I decided to get my degree in public administration and nonprofit management that I wanted to bring meaningful arts education opportunities to kids in my community.

When I took on this role at Inside the Orchestra, I knew the organization had a tremendous amount of potential, but to be honest I would have guessed that I would have stayed for a few years to help get the organization on the right track and then move on. But I fell in love with the programs, have seen over and over again how much they impact the children we serve. And that has been the driving force behind my nine years at this organization – I work for the kids we serve, and every decision I make is with their interests in mind.

Inside the Orchestra is passionate about music, and bringing a wide variety of musical opportunities to kids. Our mission is to bring music to children, cultivating music appreciation and enhancing their education through engaging, interactive experiences with orchestral music. We are the only professional orchestra in the country focused solely on children’s programming, and because of that we are able to design our programs for the age and stage of the kids we serve – and make it as fun and dynamic as possible while doing it.

We provide programs that are open to the public and in schools, online and in person. Our in-person programming is available all around metro Denver. Our online programming is available to anyone with an internet connection.

We are passionate about the world of the orchestra being a place for everyone, and as such all ticket prices are suggested – if an individual or a school needs reduced cost or free programming, it is available to them. Our yearlong online virtual curriculum is available at no costs to schools anywhere. Reducing barriers to access, cultivating diverse audiences, electing and recruiting representational leadership, and creating spaces where people from all backgrounds and demographics have a voice in our work – are all key components of what we do.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Seeing the impact of our work on the children we create programming for.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I just did. :)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://insidetheorchestra.org/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/insideorchestra
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InsideOrchestra
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelby-mattingly-91a64b28/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/InsideOrchestra

Image Credits
Kara Mitchell, Tyler Hicks-Wright, Shelby Mattingly, Satya Wimbish