Volunteer

Volunteering with us is a great way to support the arts and make a difference in our community. Below is a list of our current volunteer opportunities. Click on each opportunity to learn more about how you can help.

To volunteer, please contact our business manager at (509) 943-6602 or adm@midcolumbiasymphony.org.

Concerts – Lobby
Concerts – Stage
Business Office
Social Media (urgent need)
Audio/Video Recording
Website Design and Upkeep
President’s List

Concerts – Lobby

Most of our concerts are held at the Richland High School Auditorium, with some at the Kennewick High School Auditorium. Volunteers are essential to help Board members in the auditorium lobby with welcoming patrons, selling tickets, providing Will Call tickets, taking tickets, monitoring auditorium doors, helping patrons find their reserved seats, and assisting people with special needs.

Volunteers should have a cheerful attitude and a desire to make the concert experience pleasant for everyone. Enjoying problem-solving and wanting to be an advocate for patrons are also important qualities.

We need to identify lobby volunteers about two weeks before a concert. After that, we can provide any necessary training.

Concerts – Stage

A lot of preparation goes into setting up the orchestra (and sometimes the chorus) for a concert. We manage our concert cycles, which is the period when the entire orchestra is in town for rehearsals and the concert(s). We work with the school district staff to use their facility and some of their equipment.

Usually, this involves setting up chairs, music stands, and percussion instruments on Thursday evening from about 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM. After the last concert, we put everything away, which takes about an hour. This means finishing around 10:00 PM for an evening concert or about 6:30 PM for a matinee concert. Sometimes, the orchestra setup changes during a concert, and stage volunteers help move chairs, stands, and risers quickly during intermission or between pieces.

Volunteers need to be available when needed and physically able to move chairs, music stands, and help with larger items like risers and sound reflectors. Little training is required and can be provided on the job. Another possible role is providing security by overseeing musicians’ instrument cases and personal items if they cannot be locked up during the concert.

Business Office

Currently, our business manager handles both our business operations and runs our small office in the McHunter Building. The office has two rooms: the front room for the business manager’s desk and receiving area, and the back room for everything else.

We need a volunteer or two to help organize and manage the back room. This involves sorting, storing, or discarding items already filling the back room, as well as new items as they come in. This includes many full file cabinets and bins of sheet music collected over decades, along with many historical records that need to be documented and made more accessible.

Volunteers will work under the direction of our Music Librarian to sort, check, and document historic items and sheet music. The main requirements for these volunteers are patience and, ideally, some office skills or experience working in offices, nonprofits, or small companies with modest budgets.

Social Media (urgent need)

The Mid-Columbia Symphony is currently active on Facebook and Instagram, but our staff lacks the time to enhance and maintain these platforms regularly. We recognize the crucial role of social media in marketing and advertising, which have been significant challenges since the pandemic. With limited expertise among our older Board members and existing volunteers, we aim to build a team of volunteers, including younger Board members, to expand our community presence.

Volunteers will have flexible time commitments based on their skills, experience, interests, and availability. Whether you’re interested or want more information, please contact us to discuss further.

Our primary goal is to boost concert attendance back to pre-pandemic levels. While we’ve traditionally used media like radio, TV, newsletters, and our website, we’re aware of falling behind in utilizing modern social media effectively.

Help us reach a broader and younger audience by improving our Facebook and Instagram pages. We need volunteers to:

Monitor and respond to questions and comments from followers.
Enhance the appeal and readability of our social media pages.
Craft engaging posts that direct followers to our website for concert details, ticketing, and other services.
Engage with followers to build relationships and attract new volunteers.
Share updates from our staff and Board, offering advice on optimizing content for our audience.
Collaborate with our Business Office and Board of Trustees in a team-oriented environment.

Your advice and expertise in social media are invaluable to us as we strive to modernize our outreach efforts. Please consider joining us in this important initiative.

Audio/Video Recording

Audio and video recording of our concerts involves setting up microphones in the orchestra seating and positioning video cameras nearby. This setup allows us to capture entire orchestral pieces as well as close-ups of individual musicians or sections, which are later edited into compelling recordings. While we have skilled volunteers and high-quality equipment, our team needs to expand under the direction of Board member Steve Wiley to ensure consistent recording, even when Steve is unavailable.

We’re looking for volunteers experienced in or knowledgeable about audio and video recording. The main tasks include directing recordings to ensure desired shots and handling post-production for polished video results. You can see an example in our website’s archives. We also welcome volunteers eager to learn these skills with some training.

Additionally, we need a stage team to set up microphones, cables, and connectors at least an hour before each concert and dismantle everything afterward to restore the stage. This requires a few hours of volunteer time on concert days, plus training sessions between concerts as needed.

Website Design and Upkeep

Our advertising and marketing efforts largely focus on directing potential and current concert-goers to our website for online ticketing, Youth Programs and Community Outreach information, musician resources, and other organizational details. Therefore, maintaining an appealing and functional website that is consistently updated is crucial. We are looking to establish a small team of volunteers to assist in this effort, working closely with a designated webmaster and business office.

If you have experience in website design and maintenance, graphic arts, editing, especially with Elementor website editing software, and can dedicate a few hours periodically to support us, please contact us for further discussion.

President’s List

It takes many hands to make any organization thrive. As a non-profit, we rely heavily on volunteers for tasks we can’t afford to staff. Here are some areas where we could use your help:

Webmaster: Perform regular content updates using Elementor web editor.
Newsletter Editor or Content Provider: Create and edit content for our newsletter.
Scholarship Fund Coordinator: Work with board members to develop and implement a scholarship fund in memory of Clay Wick.
Grant Writer: Assist our business manager with grant writing.
Head Usher: Coordinate and mentor other volunteer ushers.
Ambassador Program Coordinator/Social Media Influencer: Lead our ambassador program and enhance our social media presence.
Marketing Specialist/Advisor: Provide marketing advice to the Board.
Pre-Concert Talk Coordinator/Advertiser: Work with Conductor Nick Wallin and the board to set up and advertise pre-concert talks.
Post-Concert Get-Together Coordinator: Arrange and coordinate post-concert social events.
Orchestra Thank-You Event Coordinator: Organize a pre-concert thank-you event for orchestra members, with support from board members for funding and refreshments.
Donor Appreciation Event Coordinator: Develop and coordinate events to appreciate our donors, working with the Board and business manager.
MCAF Fundraising Event Steering Committee: Help plan and execute our fundraising events.

There are many ways you can support MCS without being on the Board (though we also welcome new Board members). If you’re interested in volunteering or have any questions, please contact our business manager, Pam Kizito, or any of our board members.