By Stacie Boyls | Arts & Life Writer

St. Louis junior Ava Janes is starting the Waco Symphony Student Ambassadors, a new organization aimed at providing career advancement for anyone interested in arts management, nonprofit work and hands-on experience in a professional setting.

Ultimately, Janes said she is passionate about fostering a community of pre-professionals who want to support the arts or advance their resume-building skills.

“I wanted to just figure out ways that I could also get people interested in arts management,” Janes said. “It’s a really great industry that a lot of people don’t understand until they’re in the career or in the field.”

The organization was recently approved as an official Baylor student group and aims to connect students across disciplines with the Waco Symphony, all while providing hands-on experience.

“I’m excited about the official chartering of the Waco Symphony Orchestra Student Ambassadors to generate greater awareness of the Symphony on Baylor’s campus and more actively involve students in our mission and philanthropy,” Carolyn Bess, executive director of the Waco Symphony Association, said. “Our goal is to give Baylor students a tangible, experiential way to learn more about arts management.”

Open to students of any major, the group focuses on bridging what Janes sees as a longstanding gap between Baylor and the broader Waco arts community.

“There are Baylor faculty and students who perform in the Waco Symphony, but there’s just a lot of barriers,” Janes said. “Because they are an outside organization, they can’t get the same coverage that I would hope for.”

Janes’ vision is informed by her own professional experience. In addition to her coursework — which includes a Bachelor of Music in violin performance, a secondary concentration in film and digital media studies, a minor in business administration and participation in the Honors Program — she works as an artistic administration intern and concert operations stage manager for the Waco Symphony.

“I’m the youngest-ever hired concert operations stage manager for the Waco Symphony,” Janes said. “It’s a mid-career professional role.”

In that position, Janes manages communication among the executive director, music director and guest artists. She also coordinates with Waco Hall staff and helps prepare concerts throughout the season.

Janes’ broader resume includes arts administration and marketing roles at national music festivals, as well as selection to the Eastman Leadership Academy at the Eastman School of Music.

Those experiences helped shape the mission of Waco Symphony Orchestra Student Ambassadors, which Janes said is to help provide exposure, connection and service.

“I’ve seen a lot of musicians that are practicing diligently, but in the end, a lot of those same musicians that get into symphonies are still also pursuing arts admin part-time,” Janes said. “People end up finding out they love that.”

The organization plans to host networking events, masterclasses, professional conversations and behind-the-scenes learning opportunities with Waco Symphony staff and performers.

“It’s going to be more about talking about the ins and outs of the symphony business,” she said. “What does it mean to be a personnel manager? What does it mean to enter arts admin or be a content creator for a symphony?”

Beyond professional development, the group will also serve as a volunteer and fundraising base for Symphony events. Members may assist with concert operations, tabling, concessions and outreach efforts, all while building transferable skills.

“It’s service at the end of the day,” Janes said. “But you’re diversifying your resume into a portfolio in a way where you might be in business, but you’re not just doing finance, you’re doing finance for a nonprofit, an artistic group. That makes it stand out.”

Janes emphasized that accessibility is central to the organization’s design. There are no membership fees, no application barriers and flexible involvement expectations.

“I want anyone and everyone to be able to join the group,” Janes said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re in pre-med or anything else. As long as you’re interested in arts or nonprofit management, I think that that’s a great place to be.”

For non-musicians, Janes said the benefits are both practical and professional. Students interested in business, pre-health, communications or education can gain exposure to nonprofit governance, fundraising, marketing and community engagement through hands-on involvement with the Symphony.

The organization also offers opportunities to network with local philanthropists, board members and arts leaders.

The first general meeting is expected in late February, with more details to be announced. Janes is currently recruiting founding members to help shape leadership roles, including marketing and philanthropy chairs. The organization also operates as a philanthropy and public service course through Baylor’s Office of Engaged Learning.

As the organization grows, Janes hopes it will strengthen student attendance at Symphony concerts and foster a deeper appreciation for Waco’s music culture.

“It’s such a great experience to have world-class musicians right in the area,” she said. “We just had a concert with Aristo Sham, who’s a Van Cliburn Gold Medalist who’s been touring internationally, and he was just here in Waco.”

For Janes, the long-term goal is an interdisciplinary connection between students and the city beyond campus.

“I just want to bring the Waco music culture and the performances to the students,” she said, “and the students to be able to support them.”