We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kate Hatmaker a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kate, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Art of Elan has been successfully curating unique chamber music concerts for 15 seasons now, but I’m not sure our Creative Youth Development initiatives are as well known in the community. For 8 years now we’ve had a successful partnership with A Reason to Survive (ARTS), based in National City, where we work with young people aged 14-24 on the creation of original pieces of classical music. It’s been a remarkable program that has empowered numerous students over the years and allowed everyone the opportunity to find their voice through music. The Young Artists in Harmony (YAH) program is unique in that each student participant is given access to software that converts their musical ideas into notes on a sheet of paper that are then given to professional musicians (many from the San Diego Symphony) to workshop and try out each Saturday. It’s amazing to see what these young people are able to create–most of whom cannot even read music or play an instrument themselves! One of the more meaningful aspects of the program is that we’ve been able to create career pathways for some of the program alums. Through his work with the YAH program, Diego Rodriguez (one of our very first participants) was able to transfer from community college to UCSD, graduating with a degree in music composition in 2020. He is now a master teacher for the program, and even sits on Art of Elan’s Board of Directors. Talk about a full-circle story!

Kate, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I began playing the violin at age 3 because my parents valued music education and the numerous soft skills that come along with it (ear training, discipline, improved memory and motor skills). My parents were music educators themselves, but never imagined I would pursue music professionally. Ironically, all three of their daughters now have careers as professional musicians! I moved to San Diego in 2006 after winning an audition with the San Diego Symphony as a violinist, and shortly thereafter formed the non-profit that I now run, Art of Elan, which is committed to building community through music. For 15 years now we have bringing innovative classical music to diverse audiences, partnering with many of the region’s leading artists and art institutions to present intimate, thought-provoking, and multi-disciplinary performances. Art of Elan has always been intentional about amplifying artists’ voices, especially those who have not often been heard, and our programming is one of the most unique aspects of our organization. All of our performances are short (1-hour, with no intermission), and often include world premieres or other new works that we’ve commissioned. Creating a varied soundscape is super important to keeping both our audiences and musicians engaged, and we are proud to showcase a wide variety of artists each season. Many of our concerts are also art-inspired and are held in museums or art galleries that allow us to connect the dots between various art forms. But the Art of Elan experience doesn’t end after the show; our FREE Art of Elan app allows listeners to connect with the music over and over again, as each concert is recorded live and offered for streaming and free download the following day. It’s amazing to see how many listeners have connected with us from all over the world thanks to the app!

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Thanks to the pandemic, the past couple of years have been incredibly difficult for artists and everyone else in the non-profit world. And while there have been numerous agencies that have responded with COVID relief funding and other efforts, the burden still seems to be on artists to identify, apply for, and then report back on the funding, if granted. For tiny arts orgs that process can be tedious and unrealistic. I’ve seen a few examples more recently of trust-based philanthropy in action and it’s super inspiring. I’ve seen how that can be a total game-changer for small orgs and I wish we could see more of it in this country. I understand that it can seem crazy to grant money without any accountability, but it would be interesting to see if there could be widespread systemic shifts as a result. If funders really got to know the impactful work that’s being done in small communities all over the country I bet it could result in a lot more trust-based philanthropy. What a game changer that would be!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

My story is sort of unique in that I’ve managed to carve a path in the arts that allows me to be both a performer and an entrepreneur/arts administrator. As an Artistic Director with Art of Elan, I think it’s valuable that I’m still performing as a violinist as much as I do with the San Diego Symphony and other projects. I believe it informs my programming choices for Art of Elan and prevents me from being tied to my computer, thinking all the time about numbers and my other Executive Director duties. At the same time, I relish those moments when I am “just a violinist” and can pour myself entirely into the music, not having to worry about who’s filling the seats or paying the musicians. As long as I can maintain enough energy to do both, I’m happy to have my cake and eat it too, as they say!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.artofelan.org
• Instagram: @artofelan
• Facebook: @artofelan
• Linkedin: @artofelan
• Twitter: @artofelan
• Youtube: Art of Elan

Image Credits
Gary Payne Photography Beth Ross Buckley William Zauscher