December 04, 2007
Cary Senior Center, Cary, NC Room 302
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Except as noted, all Directors and members had received advance notice of the meeting. The tables below reflect attendance. |
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Chorus Committee Attendance |
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Present |
Absent |
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David Lindquist |
Executive Director |
X |
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Larry Speakman |
Artistic Director |
X |
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Geiselle Thompson |
Committee Chair |
X |
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Barb Klimala |
Soprano Section |
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X |
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Terri Ring |
Alto Section |
X |
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John Picha |
Tenor Section |
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X |
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David Britt |
Bass Section Recording Secretary |
X |
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Eleni Steadman |
At Large |
X |
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Cherie Spehar |
Volunteer |
X |
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Greg Tarsa |
At Large |
X |
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Emiko Kuroda |
Librarian |
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X |
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Liz Cummings |
Membership |
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X |
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Amber Farrelly |
At Large |
X |
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Caroline Christian |
At Large |
X |
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Guests |
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Geiselle called the meeting to the order at 7:30 pm Minutes from prior meeting Minutes from November 06, 2007 were approved as posted to the website.
Old Business What is needed to prepare for the December 8 concert? David Lindquist reported that he is still enlisting volunteers for various roles. He‟s got enough help with census and ticket-takers, but hasn‟t gotten a response to his call for riser help yet. David reports that help for the sales table is looking „a little thin‟, and anticipates having to do the best we can in that regard. Volunteers from the Chorus Committee agreed to help with counting money after the concert. Help will be needed getting the risers moved in, but David has help with the black boxes. He feels that all-in-all we‟re in good stead for dealing with any last-minute issues regarding the concert, and agrees to let the Chorus Committee know if something else should come up. David identified that we would need a person to deal with putting the singers into formation just before the concert and Geiselle agreed to contact a prospective candidate. David remarked that we don‟t completely know the logistics yet, and feels that the baby grand piano will pose a problem. Because we need the piano with this concert, its placement might put singers in some odd places to accommodate the instrument. Virtuosos Credit Cherie spoke to our ongoing efforts toward the virtuosos program, and provided a handout with points to consider in light of our discussions thus far. Needs cited for the Virtuoso program include clearly identifying what the Virtuoso program is, what it stands for, as well as clearly identifying what counts toward Virtuoso credit within whatever framework is chosen. Hourly System One proposal has been the adoption of an hour-based system where Virtuoso credit hours would be accrued. If we move to an hourly system, every act of volunteerism effort would earn credit towards meeting the hourly minimum. A goal would have to be set for time accrual, and we would have to consider whether all volunteerism counts the same regardless of the „effort‟ involved (e.g. stuffing envelopes versus heavy lifting). Cherie pointed out that most feel equality in this regard is fair, because opportunities could be chosen to match an individual‟s style. Another question to discuss: “What about those who far exceed the number of hours required for Virtuoso status”? If we move to an hourly system, a method for tracking would have to be devised, and a person appointed to do maintain it.
The committee reviewed the current requirements for the Virtuoso program and touched upon the role that financial contributions play toward Virtuoso credit. Geiselle conveyed the Board‟s interest in encouraging members to donate, and expressed her expectation that the Board would want to see these continue to count in any overhaul that comes about. Greg presented an interesting analysis of the Virtuoso problem. Switching between his „engineer‟ and „manager‟ hats, he identified four basic categories into which people will fall with regard to volunteerism:
With David‟s help, Greg ascribed the number of members that would fit each category. Greg suggested that category #3 represents the group of members that revision of the Virtuoso program targets, and stated the goal as increasing category three without decreasing numbers one and two. Greg recommended that we balance our degree of effort with the potential improvement suggested by this third category. Working from a base of approximately 100 members who would be potentially eligible for the Virtuoso program, this category is thought to represent about 15 members. Greg suggested that a campaign of contacting potential volunteers directly might offer viable results. In exploring what the next steps would be in pursuit of the Virtuoso program, the Committee called for a question of whether we were ready to decide to embrace or abandon the move to an hourly-based system. There were eight voting members present. Six of these members were ready to vote the question, two were not. Allowing that the four members who were absent were also not yet ready to vote on the issue, discussion will continue in February. The question under consideration is whether to:
In either case, someone other than David Lindquist needs to do the accounting.
January Concerns Because of several scheduling challenges, the next Committee meeting will not be until February 5th. Geiselle reminded the committee that there are some concerns that will need to be addressed in the interim. The committee will have to plan ahead for nominations and each of us must consider whether we will seek re-election to our respective positions. Geiselle will not be serving on the Committee next year. Nominations will need to be decided in February, and Geiselle invites any ideas, comments or questions during the interim. The committee will need someone to coordinate the virtuosos program, in whatever shape it assumes. Another first-night needs to be coordinated for January 28th. The Committee will have to organize this by email. The consensus is that the last setup was very good and offers an excellent model to follow. Work is needed to line up the volunteers. Voices of Light David will post a report with his thoughts and concerns online before the end of the week. Larry had previously made announcement of the publicity we‟re getting on this concert. He felt that we are capitalizing on the fact that this is very different, coupled with the symphonic performance and the film. Larry anticipates exposure coming through the Arts and Entertainment section of the News and Observer on the 6th. The Choral Society of Durham is also putting out publicity on this. Three of our four soloists (The Obvious Four) are familiar with the Durham crowd, and are leveraging this network to promote the concert. Larry has visited the church to consider the logistics. The film will be projected onto a 9 x 12 foot screen by a company from Durham. They are contracted to come and set it up all up, and are well within budget. The company will be prepared to do a front or a rear projection, and require 12 feet of depth. These logistics will be decided on Friday night before the concert. Larry is working on logistics with the orchestra, and the musicians will bring stands and stand lights. Larry expressed concerns about whether there will be ample lighting for the choir, and recommends that some might want to get personal clip-on type lights to ensure that the scores may be read clearly.
Larry underscored that parking at the January concert will be a challenge. He discussed this with Joe Ferguson who is familiar with the location and Joe concurs: parking is an issue there. Larry would like us to carpool to this event, and to explore whether there is some way we can use a remote parking site in order to preserve parking at the venue; suggestions included Whole Foods and Meredith. Adjournment Geiselle closed the meeting at 8:39 The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, February 5, 2008 Respectfully Submitted X David.Britt CSC Chorus Committee Secretary