Our Story
MetroNOME was founded on the belief that education in general, and music education in particular, is the gateway to a better, more fulfilling life, and we want to make sure that any child who loves music should be able to find a way to play.
To that end, we will contribute a portion of our profits, as well as your direct contributions, to music education groups in the Twin Cities metro area.
Meet The Team
Bill Eddins
Co-Founder + Partner
William Eddins is the Music Director Emeritus of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and a frequent guest conductor of major orchestras throughout the world. Engagements have included the New York Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, the symphony orchestras of San Francisco, Boston, Minnesota, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Houston, as well as the Los Angeles and Buffalo Philharmonics.
Internationally, Eddins was Principal Guest Conductor of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra (Ireland). He has also conducted the Berlin Staatskapelle, Berlin Radio Orchestra, Welsh National Opera, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, and the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra.
Career highlights include taking the Edmonton Symphony Orchestras to Carnegie Hall in May of 2012, conducting RAI Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale on Italian television, and leading the Natal Philharmonic on tour in South Africa with soprano Rene Fleming. Equally at home with opera, he conducted a full production of Porgy and Bess with Opera de Lyon in France, and a revival of the production during the summer of 2010 at the Edinburgh Festival.
Bill is an accomplished pianist and chamber musician. He regularly conducts from the piano in works by Mozart, Beethoven, Gershwin and Ravel. He has released a compact disc recording on his own label that includes Beethoven’s HammerKlavier Sonata and William Albright’s The Nightmare Fantasy Rag.
A native Minnesotan, Matt started playing the saxophone in 4th grade, and continued through high school and college, where he played in both the St. Olaf Band and Jazz Band for all four years. He studied along the way with Mark Engebretson, Rita Kneusel, Kurt Claussen, and Reuban Haugen. Matt’s educational background is in Math and Physics from St. Olaf and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The .com boom happened right after graduate school, and that pulled in him into the world of Information Technology. A short stint in the consulting world led to a software sales position at Lotus Development Corporation, which in turn evolved into 20 years at “Big Blue” IBM.
Beer brewing started out as a hobby. He and Bill met in 2015 through youth baseball coaching, and discovered their mutual interest in the miracles that happen when yeast, grain, and hops meet each other. They started collaborating on their brewing efforts, and now the two of them want to turn a hobby into a money-making venture. The proceeds from that will go back into supporting the local music development community.
Matt Engstrom
Co-Founder + Partner
Elle Rhodes
Director of Sales
Elle is a Co-Founder and Director of Brewing Change Collaborative, a nonprofit with the mission to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion for People of Color in the brewing and beverage industry. In addition, she is a Director on the board of Infinite Ingredient, a nonprofit with the mission to actively support the mental and physical well-being of individuals working in the craft beverage industry.
Elle, always interested in new adventures, is the 2023 Sergeant of the Royal Guard of the Saint Paul Winter Carnival. And along with the obvious family and friends, she highly values a great Czech Pilsner, a full-bodied Shiraz, a delicious Pechuga, and Al’s Breakfast.
A self-taught guitar player since age 13, Gabe heard about the brewery’s mission while working for a record store in Minneapolis, and felt compelled to be a part of the MetroNOME community. He joined the staff in the Fall of 2022. His other musical experience includes being a roadie for the band Camper Van Beethoven and he has hosted a weekly music program on a community radio station on the iron range. (KAXE 91.7FM) Currently he plays a lot of disc golf and enjoys listening to his collection of jazz LPs.
Gabe Talley
Taproom Manager
Mark Smith
Marketing and Loyalty Manager
Mark was asked to sit on a stool and learn upright bass for his school at the age of 8, which unlocked a future of playing in school and community orchestras, jazz bands, rock bands, and local original indie bands. His need to create, try new things, and help others allowed him to thrive in the corporate environment and in local non-profit boards. He’s a husband and father of two girls, an avid science fiction/fantasy reader, all-season fisherman and long-suffering Vikings fan.
“I’ve learned in memorable ways that life is short…I have gratitude and appreciation for all of my experiences. So go ahead- put yourself in uncomfortable situations; try things you always wanted to. What’s stopping you? The minute you realize it’s not all about you is the minute you start finding fulfillment and joy in helping others.”
