Our Commitment to Equity, Inclusion, and Access

Our Mission

The mission of Inside the Orchestra is to bring orchestra music to young children in the greater Denver metropolitan community, cultivating music appreciation and enhancing their education through an engaging first-hand experience with the orchestra.

Music can be an extraordinarily powerful tool for connection and change. We are committed to living the values of equity, inclusion, and access. We are passionate about the world of the orchestra being a place for everyone. 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. We understand that we have more work to do, and that our work will never be finished.

We understand that the world of the orchestra has a history of exclusion. In working with the youngest members of our community, we especially have the opportunity – and the obligation – to make change. We believe it is on us to reinvent the orchestra experience for children and that, through this work, we can build a path for a more equitable future in the world of the orchestra. As we do this, we will not assume that the traditions of the orchestra are the right way forward. We will work for change by questioning and challenging the established assumptions and perceptions of the orchestral world.

We know that orchestra music is only one tiny slice of a vast global landscape of artistic experiences. While we love the orchestra and believe deeply in all it has to offer, we reject the premise upheld by so many institutions throughout history that orchestra music is inherently superior to other art forms. We will continue to create space to celebrate and honor the arts and artists from diverse cultures.

Please find resources for a variety of other art forms and organizations representing cultures from around the world here. This list is a growing document. Please add to it, and give us feedback on it and on these policies, by contacting us at info@insidetheorchestra.org.

Our Values

Adopted in 2018

Increase equity among metro Denver’s communities by reducing barriers to the performing arts and ensuring that orchestra music is accessible, approachable, and enjoyable for all children.
Respect the children we serve by providing relevant, authentic, engaging, and professional programming.
Listen to the community and anticipate needs by soliciting and incorporating feedback from all stakeholders, including attendees, musicians, volunteers, and donors.
Demonstrate that the arts are important to community health and vitality by providing fair compensation to artists, promoting arts education, and cultivating a lifelong appreciation of the arts in young audiences.

Our Agreements

Adopted in 2019

In addition to our values statements, our staff also committed to a set of agreements when it comes to programming and program design. They are as follows:

We will hire performers and guest artists of a variety of ages and cultural heritages, and always seek to diversify the cultural representation of musicians and artists in our programming.
We will continue to invest in communication with our patrons, and make sure our programming is responsive to their needs rather than prescriptive.
We will work to ensure that programming consistently features music written by non-white and non-male composers.
We will continue to building bigger/better pathways for adults and children with special needs to have successful experiences at our programs.
We will seek collaborations with organizations that come from different artistic spaces than we do.
We will seek out collaborations and partnerships with guest artists from diverse organizations, representing communities of color and marginalized communities, and we will work with these guest artists using a model of collective leadership.
We will vet our leadership and programmatic decisions using the framework of our values statements and these agreements.
We will gauge our progress by talking with the communities we serve, consistently and diligently analyzing and assessing our own work, reviewing demographic information of attendees served, and seeking out professional development for staff and leadership to continue to self reflect and learn.
We will not assume that we are right, as an organization or individuals. We will always assume that we have something to learn.
We will hold ourselves accountable.

Our Anti-Discrimination Statement

Revision adopted 2017

Inside the Orchestra does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff and performers, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, clients, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients.

Inside the Orchestra is an equal opportunity employer. We will not discriminate and will take affirmative action measures to ensure against discrimination in employment, recruitment, advertisements for employment, compensation, termination, upgrading, promotions, and other conditions of employment against any employee or job applicant on the bases of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.