News from the Board of Directors
Board Meeting May 16, 2021
About half the board members had a very pleasant meeting with new conductor Jon Bridges, combining get-acquainted chat with some policy issues around regrouping. Jon is a delightful person, and I’m sure the orchestra is going to be very happy with him. We don’t yet know if we’ll be able to restart in the fall, but Jon will be going to bat for us.
Eleanor and BJ will prepare a survey of players to find out who is planning to return to the orchestra and what safety concerns they may have.
Later in the summer we’ll have another meeting in which we talk in detail about how and by whom the work of the orchestra gets done. (library, website, etc.)
Below are some notes from the meeting that Amey kindly wrote for us.
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Springfield Public Schools (SPS) is taking a variety of measures for safety protocols, including requiring multiple surfaces like chairs and stands to get wiped down after use. Their priority is for students to use their facilities safely, so outside groups might not be allowed right away.
attendance
SPS requires attendance to know who is present and at what time, in case of Covid exposure for contact tracing. The easiest way for us to take attendance is probably through section leaders noting who attends each week, and whether the person was there by the end of the rehearsal. (We don't want a sign-in sheet, that's unsanitary, and the electronic version (a scanned QR code read by a smartphone) doesn't work for everyone in our group.
repertoire
We have a lot of music in our library, but some of it is far below our group's level, so it was suggested we donate some to another institution. (Maybe a school?) Maybe to start we would play music from the last term, from the concert we didn't get to perform ?
space
The question is always where to meet. The SHS band room can safely hold 30-45 people under current social distancing, and it might be a different setting for fall. We just don't know how many people we can be allowed to have.
contract
There are concerns from Springfield schools about outside parties, and potential legal issues. We are contemplating a contract that all orchestra participants would sign.
concert
So far off in the future, nothing scheduled, maybe streaming for the audience. Schools are very hesitant to agree to let the public in for events.
Note from a Friend
June, 2020. Last winter the board voted to give $200 gifts to Jim Hallwyler and Jonathan Light, the two Springfield High music teachers who have helped us the most. Logistics for concerts, enabling us to rehearse and perform rent-free at the school, and more. Last week Jonathan returned the money with this nice note of explanation:
“Thank you for ESCO’s generous gift. My service to ESCO has always been about giving back to our community and supporting the arts. ESCO, in turn, has always supported our students by providing your members to help with tutoring and the Springfield Orchestra Festival. It’s all about synergy! It has been a pleasure working with you!”
Jonathan
Pandemic-related Board Decisions
** We’ve canceled the mandated May election until May 2021. Most Board members will continue serving in an extended two-year term till then.
** We have voted to pay Richard for the spring term in gratitude for his leadership and in recognition for all the extra time he has devoted to the orchestra in securing our music and cementing good relations with the Springfield School District and High School staff, enabling us to rehearse and perform at the school.
** We have continued our tradition of giving scholarships to teacher-nominated Springfield High School seniors who will be continuing their study of music. Two orchestra players and two band players will each receive a $250 scholarship. Sadly, we won’t be able to publicly present those to the students at a spring concert.
** We will not expect member dues for the spring term, but we welcome any voluntary donations. (Send a check made out to ESCO to P.O. Box 51453, Eugene, OR 97405 or, preferred, make a donation online. We also encourage players to make donations to the local performing arts group(s) of their choice. With performance venues closed, professional musicians are entering a difficult time.
B.J. Novitski, cello
ESCO Treasurer
ESCO Board Meeting Minutes
February 25, 2020
Springfield High School
Minutes by B.J. Novitski
Members present: Richard Long, Alex Zunterstein, Eleanor Montagna, B.J. Novitski, Linda Ague, Ken Blanchard, Amey Herman, David Payton, Dan Powell, Rena Segebartt, Judy Spearin
There were two items on the agenda: budget adjustments for the coming year, and a modification to the website.
Budget Adjustments
Due to generous donations and successful fundraising, we have been enjoying a net income of $2-3000 for the past two years. We discussed several options for whether to spend this or to let the surplus continue to grow. We generally agreed that:
a) our nest egg should be left alone and be allowed to grow due to uncertainty of future rent needs.
b) Richard should have a raise (amount not yet determined). He will come up with a conductor’s job description and a fee amount that he thinks will be enough to attract future conductors. When we receive those, we can figure out what size raise to give him.
c) Springfield High School music teachers Jim Halwyler and Jonathan Light should each be given $200 as a thank you for their support over the past 3 years.
d) the dues should be left at $30 per term.
Eleanor proposed that we increase our two scholarships for SHS students to four (@ $250 each) but we didn’t talk about it as a group.
After we have more information from Richard all of this will be put to a formal vote by the board.
Website Modification
A member suggested that we expand the web page about ESCO members’ external gigs to include the concerts of other groups, including professional ones. As a less labor-intensive alternative to listing many concerts, we decided to add a Resources page which will include links to those groups’ own websites. These could include links to other musical groups (e.g., Eugene Symphony, Delgani Quartet), music stores, teachers, luthiers, etc.
The webmaster has called for a volunteer to take a first crack at coming up with a list, with links. We could distribute a preliminary list to the board or to all members who could add suggestions.
ESCO Board Meeting Minutes
Feb. 11, 2019, 4:30pm
961 Taylor St., Eugene
Members Present: Linda Ague, Amey Herman, Richard Long, Eleanor Montagna, B.J. Novitski, Alex Zunterstein
March 17 Concert
The Board decided to begin the next concert at 4pm to avoid certain schedule conflicts. In coming years, we’ll determine the schedule for the year in September to try to avoid any such conflicts. We also approved the light saber as a baton for the Star Wars music. We’ll encourage audience members to wear Star Wars costumes but not offer prizes as once suggested.
Budget
B.J. presented a summary of the 2018 income and expenses. Because of aggressive fundraising efforts, we ended the year with a surplus, which will appear in the summary as a $2000 contingency fund.
The Board agreed to give a $300 honorarium to guest soloist Yvonne Hsueh and $250 scholarships to two Springfield High seniors who are planning to pursue music. They will be a string player and a wind/percussion player, selected by the SHS orchestra and band directors, respectively. We will compose a letter explaining our scholarship program and asking them to submit their nominations by May 1.
Until we have an idea for a project to pursue, we’ll postpone any grant seeking.
Publicity
We discussed several channels for concert publicity. Radio spots can be expensive and not worth the trouble they require, so we won’t pursue those. Linda sends notices to the Register Guard and Eugene Weekly, for their calendars. BJ sends notices to local high school orchestra conductors. Mike Ponichtera has been making flyers for members to distribute. We’ll make jpeg versions so people can post them on their Facebook pages. Amey suggested that we ask for a couple of volunteers from the orchestra to head up publicity efforts.
Conductor’s Proposals
Richard presented the Board with a list of ideas that we will consider and work on in future meetings. One was to further develop our relationship with Springfield Public Schools through coaching, help with festivals, sharing concerts and so on. He further proposed that a small group of players form to develop and administer these activities. In September, he will meet with the Springfield High music teachers to adopt some of these proposals.
He is working on a contract to formalize the relationship between conductor and orchestra. He proposed that we adopt a Board Business Calendar, to better organize publicity, programs, fundraising, and so on. He called for Board participation in selecting soloists, from both outside and inside the orchestra. He also suggested performing a summer concert (at Washburne Park, for example) using pieces we’ve already worked on and/or staging a musical Flashmob.
ESCO Board Meeting Minutes
Oct. 8, 2018, 4:30pm
961 Taylor St. Eugene
Present:
Richard Long, Conductor
Alex Zunterstein, Concertmaster
Eleanor Montagna, President
B.J. Novitski, Secretary/Treasurer/Webmaster
Linda Ague
Amey Herman
Doug Heydon
Concert timing
We began with a suggestion that at least one concert per year be in the afternoon instead of evening. This would accommodate children and seniors who don’t like to drive at night. Richard will ask the Springfield High staff if this might be feasible.
Regular Board meetings
Despite Dan Powell’s suggestion that we set regular Board meeting dates, we decided to keep things as they have been: we’ll meet on an as-needed basis, most probably on late Monday afternoons, and try to maximize e-mail as a medium for simpler questions. Actual face-to-face meetings may be rare. Amey pointed out that two weeks into the Fall Term would be a good time to all get together.
Section leadership
Most of the discussion was about section leadership. Richard pointed out that a leader is not necessarily the strongest player in the section. He will come up with a list of the people he thinks should take this role and meet with leaders after rehearsal some time soon. Ideas for job description:
* Assign seating within the section, being sure to rotate players around so they can hear what the orchestra sounds like from different positions and so they can get to know each other better.
* Manage sheet music, keep extra copies, make more if needed, and generally make sure everyone has what they need.
* Maintain communications within the section and recognize any problems in the making
* Allocate solos
* Act as “den mother”: welcome new members, set up a sectional phone tree, plan sectional rehearsals.
T-shirts
Amey suggested that we make and sell T-shirts as a fund raiser. The company No Dinx [https://nodinx.com/] will design and print shirts for as little as 4.99 each. Board members suggested using a logo, composer portraits, clever music phrases, etc. Amey will come up with some suggestions for how to proceed.
Annual Meeting, May 15, 2018
Election Results:
Officers and Board of Directors, 2018-2019
Elected May 15, 2018
President Eleanor Montagna (clarinet)
Secretary/Treasurer B.J. Novitski (cello)
Ex Officio Richard Long (conductor)
Alex Zunterstein (concertmaster)
Board of Directors Linda Ague (flute)
Amey Herman (violin)
Doug Heydon (bass)
Chet Peterson (conductor emeritus)
Dan Powell (percussion)
ESCO Board Meeting Minutes
April 16, 2018, 3pm
961 Taylor St., Eugene
Members present: Amey Herman, Richard Long, Eleanor Montagna, B.J. Novitski, and Alex Zunterstein
We discussed format and content options for our future concert programs. They will contain: logo, listing of pieces, player names, donors/thanks, upcoming events, history, contact info, and request for donations. Amey will work up some sample formats. It may be one page folded, maybe 8.5x14, maybe with an insert for notes about the pieces.
We set the board election for May 15. Eleanor has agreed to run for president, and B.J. for secretary/treasurer. Amey and Linda will run again as board members, and Chet Peterson and Dan Powell will be invited to run as well. Richard and Alex will continue as conductor and concert master. Others will be invited to nominate themselves. The board will prepare a slate.
No news yet about whether we’ll receive any funding from our grant application to the Springfield Arts Commission. (We subsequently learned that we did not receive any.)
We now have the go-ahead from John Hidalgo to post audio clips of our last concert on our website. BJ will ask Michael Eisenman to provide his audio files.
