GiveBIG SUPERSTAR SORCERER Matthew Echert

We’d like to introduce you to yet another TeenTix GiveBIG SUPERSTAR SORCERER, Matthew Echert! Matthew is one of just nine people in the whole world who has donated to TeenTix during GiveBIG every year since 2013! (Don’t know what a TeenTix SUPERSTAR SORCERER is? Click here to find out!)

After studying theatre at University of Washington, Matthew started off his arts career on the production side of theatre, but has since become an integral player on the administrative side of the arts. As a staff member at many of our partner organizations over the years, including Pacific Northwest Ballet, ACT Theatre, Meany Center for the Performing Arts, and Washington Ensemble Theatre, Matthew found himself first working with, and then supporting TeenTix! Now, as a technical consultant at the ticketing company, Tessitura Network, Matthew is an active theatre-goer and remains a huge fan of TeenTix!

Matthew went to high school in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he didn’t have nearly as many opportunities to participate in arts and culture as he does in Seattle. Influential teachers who were passionate about literature and music provided Matthew with his first exposure to the arts: “getting excited about the arts as a teenager definitely changed my life for the better, and I love that TeenTix is helping to connect teens with all kinds of art”. Today, Matthew does not take arts access for granted and personally attends all kinds of art, including TeenTix Arts Partners SIFF, On the Boards, PNB, ACT, and Washington Ensemble Theatre.

Matthew finds himself attracted to art that pushes his boundaries, art that’s challenging or that seems completely bizarre. In that confusion he is being asked to re-examine his world and step outside of his comfort zone. “It's not an exaggeration to say that art changes lives--it expands our perspectives, gives us a place to dream, and helps us understand who we are. I want everybody to have the opportunity to participate!” Engaging in the arts changed Matthew’s life and now it can change yours too!

Thank you, Matthew, for your ongoing support and specifically through GiveBIG. Thanks for being an arts access wizard!

Lead Caption Photo: From left to right - Ella Mahler (Advisory Council Member), Talia Silveri Wright, Jackie Ernst, Matthew Echert, and Margo Beaver