Posted on June 20, 2022

Photo credit: Udo Fluck

UPDATE: The Missoulian featured Arts Missoula and our work with our Sister Cities. Check it out here.

On Friday, June 17, the University of Montana Chamber Chorale performed in Missoula’s sister city Neckargemünd, Germany. The UM Chamber Chorale is currently on a Europe tour. You can hear more about the importance of that tour by listening to the June 2022 International Voices podcast episode here.

The episode is hosted by Udo Fluck, Arts Missoula GLOBAL Director. He speaks with Dr. Coreen Duffy, Conductor of UM’s Chamber Chorale, Dr. James Randall, Director of UM’s School of Music, Chorale Member Saxon Holbrook, and UM Chorale Students: Mira Smith, Spencer Price, Kylar Sprenger, and Sophia Boughey, about their local community voices being heard by international audiences, their feelings of being musical ambassadors, their expectations and anticipations, and about their excitement of performing in Neckargemünd.

Udo joined the UM Chamber Chorale in Neckargemünd. While there, Udo had a city sightseeing tour, a meeting with Neckargemünd officials, and then attended the concert (pictured above) in a church. While there, Udo talked with Neckargemünd officials about options to celebrate the upcoming 30^th anniversary of our twinned cities in 2023. More details to come regarding those celebrations!

From Udo: “Mayor Volk provided a very nice introduction and acknowledgment of the 29 years Missoula and his city have been connected. I followed with a short speech and introduced Coreen Duffy, the conductor of the UM Chamber Chorale.”

Click here to watch the entire recording of the Chamber Chorale performance.

Posted on May 20, 2022

Prior to the COVID pandemic, Missoula regularly made it onto the lists of towns and cities that have a thriving arts and cultural landscape.  For several years Missoula was recognized as one of the top cities in Arts Vibrancy by Data Arts at Southern Methodist University.  In 2019 Missoula was ranked #4 in the nation for small cities in that study.   In 2020 Missoula was named as one of the 30 Most Creative Small Cities by the Western Arts Federation (WESTAF) located in Denver.  One of the factors that gets Missoula recognized in these national studies is the strong nonprofit arts sector: The Missoula Symphony Association, MCT Community Theatre, Missoula Art Museum, Montana Museum of Art and Culture, the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula, the Clay Studio, Montana Repertory Theatre, Zootown Arts Community Center, Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre, Bare Bait Dance, String Orchestra of the Rockies, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, International Wildlife Film Festival and Roxy Theater, Buddy DeFranco Jazz Festival, International Choral Festival, Out to Lunch, Downtown Tonight, Montana Book Festival, River City Roots Fest, First Night Missoula, Missoula Writing Collaborative, and Open Air are all either nonprofit organizations or events produced by nonprofits.   

Now that we are emerging from COVID, national organizations are looking to collect such data again.  Americans for the Arts, the largest nonprofit arts organization in the nation, produces a large-scale study every five years called Arts and Economic Prosperity: The Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts Organizations and their Audiences.  After a year delay, they are embarking on this study beginning May 1.  The information gathered from this study is invaluable and helps to put Missoula on those lists of vibrant arts cities.   

The last such study, released in 2017, showed how vital the arts are to our local economy.  In that study, the arts and culture industry contributed $54 million to the Missoula economy, with $20.4 million coming from the nonprofit arts organizations, and $33.6 million from audiences.    

• Missoula’s numbers ($54 million) were nearly three times the national median for cities our size ($19.5 million), and comparable to those of larger regional cities, such as Eugene, Reno or Boulder.  

• The average attendee at a Missoula arts event spent $26, beyond the cost of admission, on items such as food, beverage and transportation.  Out-of-town visitors spent $53 in such spending.  Though only 20% of all attendees, these cultural tourists accounted for nearly half of all audience spending. 
• Nonprofit arts and culture in Missoula supported 1,913 FTE jobs, $39 million in resident household income, and contributed $4.3 million annually in state and local government revenue.  These numbers vastly exceeded those of the national median for cities our size (512 FTE jobs, 11.6 million in household income, $1.1 million in government revenue).  

From now through next April, Arts Missoula board members and volunteers will be at arts and cultural events asking audience members to fill out a quick survey on spending for an arts event. Each survey only takes a few minutes to complete, and does not ask for any personal information other than a zip code to determine if you are a Missoula resident or from out-of-town. Information regarding how much money you spent or plan to spend in connection with the event, such as meals, lodging, or local shopping, will be compiled using verified methodology by Americans for the Arts. We will collect 800 surveys from a variety of events over the next twelve months, assuring that we obtain a valid sampling for determining how the arts drive revenue for other businesses in our community. 

We believe it is important to show that the arts and culture industry supports local jobs, generates government revenue, and is one of the cornerstones of local tourism. Thanks in advance to the local arts organizations that participate and allow us to survey their audience members, and to the audience members for taking the time to fill out a survey.   

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tom Bensen is the Executive Director of Arts Missoula.

Posted on May 12, 2022

Cup of Kindness for Arts Missoula Patron Fund Loose Caboose has been a fixture in the Missoula landscape for decades. The familiar sight of the red wagons posted in several locations in town promises delicious coffee to “wake up your smile.” They serve up not only an invigorating cup of joe but have also been serving this community for years with their Cup of Kindness campaign.

One day a month, Loose Caboose donates 50% of their daily income from coffee sales to local nonprofits. Arts Missoula Patron Fund was a beneficiary of their generosity last month. We are grateful to the owner Malcolm Lowe and his excellent team for the support for this very important initiative.

Malcolm is an artist himself. A trained actor and singer, he has acted in many MCT performances as well as Shakespeare’s plays and has sung with many musical ensembles. He is the artistic director of MPower Voices, a choir for adults with disabilities. One of their performances takes place in December at the Skate with Santa event at the Glacier Ice Rink where the choir sings Christmas carol favorites. Malcolm is a recipient of the MARCH 2022 Arts Missoula Star Award.

Fundraising for the arts can be difficult but rewarding. We all know the importance of the arts for our well-being and happiness, however, if faced with the choice of helping to eradicate hunger or support art and artists, the latter isn’t always the obvious decision. Loose Caboose’s Cup of Kindness supports these causes as well. Arts Missoula is proud to have found a place among these worthy causes as a beneficiary of their generosity.

If you had a coffee at Loose Caboose on April 19, we thank you for your support! We hope you go back for more of their delicious offerings. Thank you, Malcolm and Loose Caboose crew!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Magda Chaney is the development director of Arts Missoula.

Posted on April 23, 2022

The Arts have the power to SPARK! imagination, ignite innovation through creativity, and excite and transform learning. SPARK! Arts Ignite Learning envisions that every student receives a quality, comprehensive arts education that includes all art forms delivered in a variety of ways; and that the Arts are an essential part of every school day.  

Equitable access to arts education opportunities positively impact our children’s lives. I have witnessed first-hand this transformative power of the arts. I was observing an arts lesson that introduced clay, in which students were expected to create a sculpture representing nature. As I looked across the room, a refugee student was excelling at the lesson, creating a beautiful, intricate birds nest. He was so engaged, engrossed even. And as he worked so naturally with clay, other students were drawn to him, began to recognize his talents and skills, admire and compliment him on his art work, and saw this student in a light they had not before. No longer was there a language barrier – because art has no one language. In that short period of time, I was able to see the arts break down barriers, increase communication even without language, and increase this students’ confidence. I saw the arts fuel critical thinking skills, express emotions, and create awareness of not only the world around, but of each other.  

During this time, when students are facing social-emotional deficits and many face mental health crisis, the arts empower students to process and understand the world, express emotions, grieve, share and connect to each other and themselves, and heal. The arts hold the power, if only we are gifted the access and opportunities. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sienna Solberg is the Director of SPARK! Arts Ignite Learning. SPARK! Arts Ignite Learning is a collective-impact initiative of the Kennedy Center and is administered through Arts Missoula.

Posted on April 13, 2022

As Missoula, along with countless communities across the globe, is  “getting back to normal” following 2 years of a worldwide pandemic, its become even more clear how prominent arts & culture are in our daily lives. With the return of concerts, live theater, film festivals and countless other arts & cultural related events currently in the planning stages for a big return this summer, there seems to be a bit of a buzz around our little mountain city.  Seeing and hearing individuals thrilled to plan for summer events and organizations excited to bring new & improved annual events back to life, the excitement is palpable, which has been a reminder to me of how fortunate we are in Missoula to have access to the arts.

Access to the arts offers a rich experience that can truly shape our lives & our community, allows us to see the world beyond our own front door, our neighborhood or our own city and can inform ones view of the world. The arts allow us to understand the experience and point of view of others with whom we may not otherwise connect.  But can you imagine a community without direct access to arts & culture?

With the immense access we have to arts and culture in Missoula, it might be hard to believe that many communities across Montana lack access to arts and culture (for a variety of factors). Art & culture is more than a painting on a wall, a beautiful sculpture, a play, a dance performance or a foreign film.  Art & culture can build and connect a community, as is the case in Missoula. Our thriving arts & cultural scene has been created and nourished by the countless art related organizations, art supporters and individual artists across our city. 

Arts Missoula is a vital part of the arts & culture in Missoula, here to support other arts related organizations with our incubator program, supporting individual artists with our artist grant program, introducing future artists and arts leaders to art through SPARK! Arts and providing a window to the world through varied programming by Arts Missoula Global.  With Missoula Gives just around the corner, May 5^th & 6^th, we all have the opportunity to show our arts & cultural organizations how much we value them. If you agree that arts & culture indeed shape our lives and our community I urge you to give to those organizations, including Arts Missoula, that have created and continue to nourish our vibrant city.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Heidi Starrett is an Advertising Executive at Missoula Broadcasting Company, a locally-owned and operated radio company. Heidi has served on the Arts Missoula board since 2016 and continues to be inspired by other board members, staff and local artists who share a sense of passion for the arts community in Missoula.

In addition to the Arts Missoula board, Starrett also serves on the Missoula Downtown Association and City Club Missoula boards. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, attending live concerts, biking, cross country skiing and attending a plethora of Downtown events.

Posted on April 10, 2022

I am just plopping onto my couch after a long day of work.

Lately at the end of my workdays, I’ve been braindead. Just trying to cram in two shows and multiple separate projects, balanced extremely thoughtfully.

But today, as I enter my post-work hours, I am feeling rejuvenated and inspired.

Because today was the first day of our MCPS BIPOC Student Mural Program.

We have eight students all from different ethnic backgrounds, and for some of them, this is the first time talking in depth with strangers about their culture.

Today in class, when asked if they felt confident about their cultural identity 6/8 students said that they don’t.

The goal of this project is that 8/8 of these students finish this mural program saying that “YES,” they feel confident about their cultural identity, and that they leave with leadership skills to help others feel confident too.

The reason why many of us feel uncomfortable or unconfident about how we identity is because we learn that we need to codeswitch. We separate our cultural selves—our at home with friends and family selves—from our public spaces selves.

And I can’t help but wonder if this is the first public space that some of these students are being asked to talk about their culture, what their home lives look like, and whether or not they see themselves represented in our public Missoula spaces.

Which by the way, 8/8 students said they do not feel like their culture is publicly represented in Missoula.

Today was just the first day exploring these questions with local youth, and by the end of this program, I am hoping that we will have confident students ready to make the change that we all want to see—which is more of us advocating for our cultures and being mentors for our Missoula BIPOC communities.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: April Werle is the daughter of an immigrant Pinay and third-generation Montanan. She is a mixed Cebuano American artist, muralist, and social activist. Werle creates works rooted in the Filipino diaspora that explore identity, place and culture. She serves on the Arts Missoula Board of Directors, GLOBAL committee, and chairs the BIPOC Art Advisory Council subcommittee.

Posted on April 3, 2022

 Missoula often appears on national lists that make it clear why here is such a wonderful place to live, celebrating our easy access to outdoor recreation, good local beer, and live music. Most recently, and perhaps most unfortunately, Missoula is mentioned in the San Francisco Chronicle, topping the list of communities facing a housing affordability crisis aggravated by a 57.5% increase in home values that is matched by a 58% decrease in availability. On a happier note, a pre-pandemic Missoula achieved a #4 ranking in the mid-sized community category in the 2019 Arts Vibrancy Index Report (SMU DataArts, the National Center for Arts Research.) It’s very gratifying to look at the Arts Vibrancy map and see Missoula standing alone in a vast geographic area (see above).

Ranking high in Arts Vibrancy is important to our community. As Randy Cohen from Americans for the Arts points out “The arts are fundamental to our humanity. They ennoble and inspire us—fostering creativity, empathy, and beauty. The arts also strengthen our communities socially, educationally, and economically—benefits that persist even during a pandemic that has been devastating to the arts.” Check out Randy’s 10 Reasons to Support the Arts in 2022 | Americans for the Arts.

Aside from the past two years, we Missoulians clearly embrace the arts in Missoula. As the pandemic recedes, think of the wonderful events we can look forward to again. The expansive list of organizations that will make that possible is important to take note of. It includes but is not limited to the Missoula Symphony Association, MCT Community Theatre, Missoula Art Museum, Montana Museum of Art & Culture, Montana Repertory Theatre, Zootown Arts Community Center, Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, International Wildlife Film Festival, Buddy DeFranco Jazz Festival, International Choral Festival, Out to Lunch, Downtown Tonight, Montana Book Festival, River City Roots Fest, Festival of Remembrance, and First Night Missoula. We have gallery openings and exhibits, book readings, street performance, and independent theater productions. There is a lot happening on any given night. In fact, Missoula ranks #10 on the 30 Most Creative Small Cities published by the Western States Arts Federation which points out that “By location quotient, Missoula has a significantly higher concentration of independent artists, writers, and performers, theater companies, dinner theaters, art dealers, and bookstores than the rest of the United States.” We are clearly blessed by an abundance of creativity.

But absolutely none of these events would be possible without an individual artist who has invested countless hours honing a skill in order to provide us with a chance to enjoy a performance or exhibit. 

In fact, there is no “arts” without the “artist.”

To connect the dots between arts and artist, Arts Missoula created the Individual Artist Grants, funded through the Patron Fund, as an investment in the artists who make our community better. This initiative was bubbling for several years when the pandemic made it clear that there was a gap to fill in supporting the arts, and we could try to fill that gap by supporting the artists who make those arts happen. Plain and simple, it’s difficult to create a livelihood as an artist in the best of times, so the challenges caused by the pandemic economy only magnified the struggle. We received an incredible variety of applications from Missoula artists deeply engaged with making Missoula vibrant, proving the diversity of talent and need here. The first round of the awards have been granted, giving three Missoula artists a humble amount of reinforcement in their efforts to create art, connect with the arts community, and amplify the richness of our hometown. Check out this year’s recipients here: Arts Missoula Grants | Arts Missoula

If you love living in Missoula for more than just the good beer and outdoor recreation, please consider making a contribution to the Arts Missoula Patron Fund here Donate | Arts Missoula Help us connect the dots and keep Missoula a wonderful place to call home.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Katie Patten is a local glass artist and co-owner of 4 Ravens Gallery. She served on the Arts Missoula Board for 7 years and currently serves as a community member on the Advocacy and Education Committee.

Posted on March 18, 2022

The expression “bloom where you are planted” has always resonated with me. While I consider myself a global citizen that has put down roots in the Northern Rockies, I’m a first-generation American, born on Filmore Street in San Francisco (shhh!) to refugee parents who immigrated to the United States from Czechoslovakia. Thanks to the Caritas humanitarian social aid agency in Vienna, Austria, that helped asylum-seekers escaping persecution from the Soviet Union with resettlement to the United States, I was fortunate to be born free. My parents were not US citizens yet upon my birth, so I was granted dual citizenship and I grew up with English as my second language. I think the most creative use of my Czech passport was traveling to Cuba in the early 2000’s when Americans still weren’t allowed in, it was a magnificent step back in time. 

Getting back on topic, starting on January 5, 1968 a brief period of freedom began when Czechoslovakia’s national culture began to bloom with the freedom of speech and religion, abolition of censorship, and liberalization, a time that became known as the Prague Spring. However, the Soviet Union soon became alarmed by what appeared to be the imminent collapse of communism and rise of democracy in Czechoslovakia, so on the night of August 20, 1968 they deployed a military force of 200,000 Soviet-led Warsaw Pact troops and 5,000 tanks that violently invaded Czechoslovakia from land and sky to crush the Prague Spring. And just like that, the Iron Curtain forced Czechoslovakia back under the control of the Kremlin in Moscow. Sound familiar? 

Fast forward to 2022, and what I’m seeing and hearing on the news is beyond belief, history repeating itself. The Kremlin (now the Russian Government) is back at it, sending in violent military force by land and sky, sending in troops and tanks in a gruesome attempt to decimate democracy, but this time, invading Ukraine, and prompting a mass exodus of millions of refugees. Rumor has it that Putin is trying to reintegrate historical Russia and restore pre-1991 Soviet era unity.

The deployment of military force on Czechoslovakia in 1968 was the largest in Europe since the end of World War II. I just read that the 2022 invasion of Ukraine is the largest military attack in Europe since World War II, again unleashed by the Kremlin. This just really struck a chord with me. I’m proud of my Eastern European heritage, my family’s stories from the attacks, escape, and survival and starting over with nothing, nothing but freedom, which is everything, these are the stories that are woven into the fabric of my being. And from the core of my being, I felt an urgent need to connect with my place of being, here, in Missoula, with my community to seek solace and unity.  

As luck would have it, on Monday, March 7^th, when we were having our monthly Arts Missoula GLOBAL (AMG) Advisory Committee Meeting, we were welcoming two new members that would have the key to unlocking exactly what I was looking for. They were co-hosting an event on March 9^th at Imagine Nation Brewing to support Peace and Humanity in Ukraine with a community fundraiser for the World Central Kitchen. Wow! Yes, count me in please! Those two fabulous new AMG Advisory Committee members are Jacqueline Flewellen, Director of the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center (JRPC), and Sarah Howerton, Development Coordinator for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Missoula, Montana’s only refugee resettlement agency. Thank you both!

Also on our agenda at the meeting was an update on AMG’s International Voices Podcast Spring Series: Food as Cultural Diplomacy. So far this season AMG’s Director, Dr. Udo Fluck talks with chefs that came to Missoula through resettlement programs and now offer our community a taste of different ethnic cuisines. March’s podcast features Beth Baker, the Program Manager of the United We Eat (UWE) Programme at Soft Landing Missoula, with Rozan Shbib, originally from Syria, who is the UWE Kitchen Assistant. February’s podcast features Wissam Raheem (Kamoon food-truck owner), originally from Syria, who teamed up with Ammar Omar (Ragheef food-truck owner), originally from Iraq, to open a new restaurant in Missoula, Kamoon Arabian Cuisine.   

Incidentally, Caritas Austria, the humanitarian charity that helped resettle my parents, has been resettling refuges from Syria and Iraq, and now they are helping refugees desperately fleeing besieged Ukraine.  

After I left the benefit event for Ukraine at Imagine Nation Brewing, I walked across the street to pick up a falafel wrap to-go at Kamoon, got home and turned on CNN to see if we had entered World War III, and as I was taking a delicious bite of my wrap, I see José Andrés, a Spanish-American chef and founder of World Central Kitchen (the beneficiary organization of our community fundraiser for Ukraine) being interviewed on the Ukraine-Poland border where his team is providing cooked meals to refugees. 

In that moment it hit me…. everything just came full circle. No matter where we are from or where we land, we can take refuge in each other right here, right now, in Missoula, Montana, and together, bloom where we are planted! 

It’s time to increase the world’s appetite for PEACE!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mia Hanak (or Hanáková) has been producing environmentally-themed, cause-related, public art installations and experiences in collaboration with the United Nations for the past 20-years through her organization Millennium ART International. Locally, Mia serves on the Arts Missoula Board of Directors and she is the Advisory Committee Chair of Arts Missoula GLOBAL.

Posted on February 14, 2022

By Jake Kreilick

Missoulians, particularly those who can remember the 1980s, have experienced the gradual transformation of our downtown into the vibrant place it is today. While our streets, parks and storefronts have all seen remarkable improvements over the past 30 years, the tolerant vibe that permeates through our community existed long before I set foot here. I would argue as a 36-year resident that the primary driver behind Missoula’s social ethos is our unwavering devotion to and support for arts and culture.

It doesn’t take someone who moves here very long to figure out that we enjoy a surplus of amenity values. They represent the best of our town – be it our interwoven social fabric, our bedazzling physical environment or the rich cultural heritage that our indigenous populations offer. Our citizenry’s affinity for artistic endeavors around countless creative activities is matched by its appreciation and support of other cultures – BIG SHOUT OUT TO SOFT LANDING – making Missoula one of the most welcoming community in the American West.

A community that values its arts and its culture is made up of open-minded, curious people who are accepting of different races, religions and lifestyles. This is a big reason why Missoula is one of the top towns in the U.S. for support of the arts. 

Even more integral to our social makeup, Missoula is full of activists of all persuasions and many non-profit organizations who value the progressive vibe and the cordial atmosphere. I am an environmental activist who continues to fight for our wild places and our wildest animals –  we still have lots of Montana that is worth fighting for! Missoula is ideally situated and is a gateway between the human and the natural world.

It’s good to live in a community where the promotion of the arts and the desire to understand other cultures and perspectives is so front and center. No doubt it helps that we have the University of Montana here and all the great departments, programs, entertainment, sports, etc. – it is also what brought me to Montana in the fall of 1985 to attend the Environmental Studies Program. I really enjoyed my time at UM but what kept me here was the characteristics of Missoulians and their predilections for books, music, dance, theatre, clay, craft beer, intellectual debate and a hunger to keep this amazing blue green planet safe and sound.

Missoulians have never been shy to share their thoughts and feelings about the world around them. I often detected in my conversations with friends and acquaintances a “Don’t Mourn – Organize” mindset that not only lent urgency to issues and campaigns but created an intense camaraderie. I’ve always appreciated Missoula for being retro hip and for the interesting collection of individuals who live here because they genuinely value the role arts and culture play in our merry, merry not so little town.

So yes that #4 MT license plate does mean something and we as a community are proud to show it off. I’m sure there are lots of Missoulians out there with similar experiences and sentiments so don’t hesitate to reach out to Arts Missoula and share them with us.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jake Kreilick and his wife Heather own Lake Missoula Tea Company in downtown Missoula. He holds a B.A. in History from Wittenberg University and a M.S. in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana. He is a long-time player and coach for the Missoula All Maggots Rugby Football Club and currently serves on the Arts Missoula Board of Directors.

Posted on February 4, 2022

By Melissa Blunt

I know New Year’s Eve 2021 is but a memory at this point, but I’ve been compelled to return to that night’s memory for the glow I still feel that it offered me and all the other attendees of Arts Missoula’s First Night celebration.

In one word, it was connection. Or community, or maybe even e pluribus unum. And how rare is that in the world these days, even in Missoula!?

First, if you don’t know about Arts Missoula’s annual First Night celebration, or have known about it but avoided it for whatever reason, I’m here to say that it is the quintessential celebration of community – of our amazing community of artists and musicians and all variety of other creative endeavors like ice carvers, cooking instructors, puppet makers, mimes, dancers, and even some kind of iron fireworks which I unfortunately missed.

And the amazing thing is, its all put on in/around our beloved downtown simply for the attendees or participants enjoyment on New Year’s Eve – to celebrate Missoula! It’s a one-night showcase of the best Missoula offers – what makes us proud of Missoula’s stature as one of the most culturally and artistically vibrant towns in the country.

At the evening gala finale at the new Library (thanks to them!!!) dancing to the World-Class Ed Norton Big Band, the kids were showing off their ballroom dancing skills (think Ginger Rodgers and Fred Astaire) while some of us older folk were holding held each other up on the dancefloor, but together we all danced our way into 2022.

And everyone was masked – everywhere I went!! No problem.

At each venue I was thrilled to see the mix of demographics, from young kids, high school and college students, middle-aged folk and old timers like me, and everyone from all walks of life. Everyone entranced by whatever we were watching. All sharing the same vibe, the same pride, and the same appreciation for what we were experiencing.

So that to me is the key, that we were all CONNECTED by the experience, even though if we saw each other on the street, we would be strangers, and in some cases, not of the same political or economic persuasion.

So that is the beauty of First Night – we are all connected through art, live performance, surprised by talent here among us. Creative art is a common universal language. Each of us, in our most basic instinct, responds to the creative… by experiencing someone being totally vulnerable in performance, and the elation we feel by experiencing something that we alone could never produce, like a dance move that we physically could never do, or a vocal pitch that is exhilarant.

Let First Night Missoula bring us together in this common language.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Following a 30-year career traveling the world as an educational tour operator from her home base in Missoula, Melissa now dedicates time supporting the arts in Missoula as a current board member of Arts Missoula, and previously as a member of the Missoula Symphony and Dolce Canto boards, and as Executive Director of the International Choral Festival.