by Julia Pautz
Every musician in the San Diego Symphony is uniquely talented. In addition to her position in the SDSO, Kate Hatmaker is also the co-founder and Executive/Artistic Director of Art of Elan, a San Diego-based arts organization that has been doing extensive work in the San Diego community and beyond (www.artofelan.org). This interview between violinist colleagues Julia Pautz and Kate Hatmaker explores Art of Elan’s Young Artists in Harmony program, a community engagement program whose work was recently awarded a prestigious grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Julia: Briefly, what is Art of Elan?
Kate: We get that question a lot! “Elan” was a word I fell in love with as a French major in college. It represents spirit, vitality, vigor— all of which I wanted to bring to Art of Elan’s unique way of curating classical music concerts. Known for its collaborative spirit, Art of Elan has been pioneering unique events and bringing exciting classical music to diverse audiences for over 16 years through innovative partnerships and bi-national initiatives that have cultivated curious audiences on both sides of the border. Our consistent track record of sold-out performances stems from a commitment to commissioning new work, collaborating with world class artists and composers, programming engaging and thought-provoking concerts, and personal connections with concertgoers. In addition to partnering with many of our region’s leading cultural institutions, we’ve also been busy expanding our impact in the region through thoughtful community engagement programs.
Julia: You’ve just received a National Endowment for the Arts grant. What is that for specifically?
Kate: The NEA grant is in support of our Young Artists in Harmony program, which is both a music composition program and an empowerment program, teaching high school and college-aged students how to write music, in addition to helping them develop a variety of 21st century soft skills including grit, perseverance, resilience, and collaborative leadership. The program is actually a Creative Youth Development (CYD) program, and Art of Elan is an active member of the San Diego CYD Network, which advocates on a local, state and national level for a greater investment in young people. There was a great article in the U-T a couple years ago about our local CYD network and the work we do.
Julia: Tell me who benefits from the YAH program, what they take away from the experience, and where the program takes place.
Kate: Our Young Artists in Harmony (YAH) program takes place on Saturdays each spring and fall over a 10-week period in partnership with A Reason To Survive (ARTS)—a nationally recognized organization based in National City that believes in the power of the arts and creativity to literally transform lives. In addition to mentoring young people and helping them to create original musical compositions, the program has been expanding organically over the last few years to now include a career pathways component for some of our returning alums (we’re proud to say that ALL of our lead teaching artists are alums of the program), as well as work with students at the Preuss School, which serves first-generation college seekers from lower income families. Most of our participants live in the South Bay area and San Ysidro, but it varies year to year. One of the coolest aspects of the program is the fact that people all over the world can hear the works these YAH participants create thanks to Art of Elan’s free app and its YouTube channel.
Julia: How many students do you expect will participate this year?
Kate: In terms of numbers, it’s intentionally a small program, more of a mentorship program than anything else, directly serving around 40-50 students per year, with hundreds more benefitting from the culminating concerts and online recordings. But for the majority of these young people, it’s a relationship that continues well into the future, with some of our alums going on to work for Art of Elan as teaching artists, or formally studying music composition at schools like UCSD and SDSU. It really feels like a meaningful way for us to invest in the future of our community.