Between songs, the room filled with quiet chatter, laughter and the shuffling of sheet music. Conductor J. Arturo Gonzalez stood at the head of the orchestra, conducting animatedly, joking with the viola section and encouraging the players to give it their all.

The Flatirons Community Orchestra, born of a need for a low-stress environment for non-career musicians to do what they love, has become a place where many find community.

“What makes this country great is a group like Flatirons Community Orchestra — a group of people that each one of them does engineering, computer science, medicine, nursing and on Wednesday nights they play Tchaikovsky,” said Gonzalez, who says he has conducted orchestras around the world.

Longmont residents Chelle and John Limon, who met at Boulder High School

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