Mattea Elhard is honored to serve as Executive Director of the Bemidji Symphony Orchestra, an organization that has played an important role in her life for many years; starting as a young chorus member in several collaborative performances, a percussionist for the past ten years, and stage manager for the last five seasons. Though she has spent time taking her performing on the road across Minnesota as a choir member of both the Minneapolis-based From Age To Age and the Twin Ports Choral Project in Duluth, her passion for the arts in her hometown of Bemidji has always pulled her back and has led her to perform with the Paul Bunyan Playhouse, provide piano accompaniment and musical direction for the Bemidji Community Theater, teach private music lessons at Headwater’s Music and Arts, co-direct the Bemidji Boy Choir, found the Bemidji Justice Singers, and sing with the local bands Kitchi Boogie and The Papa Steve Band. She was passionately involved in the music programs at both Bemidji High School and Bemidji State University where she held several student officer positions. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies from Bemidji State University with an emphasis in performing arts and a minor in music.

Mattea has prior experience working as an office manager at Bemidji State University’s School of Music and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, where she also served as a wildland fire dispatcher. In both fast-paced professional careers, she solidified the mentality that “the show must go on!” and she is committed to strengthening the BSO through thoughtful collaboration, financial sustainability, and artistic excellence while celebrating Bemidji’s role as a regional hub for the arts in northern Minnesota. She enjoys spending time with family at the lake or on the farm, trying out new recipes to pair with her husband Scott’s latest home brews, singing in the Bemidji Chorale, and listening to KAXE’s Green Cheese trivia show.