Buffalo Community Orchestra, Inc.
Minutes of Board Meeting of March 6, 2005
Members Present: Kara Stonecipher, Jolyn Halvorson, Gretchen Katzenberger, Tom Larson, Kristi Brown and Sandy Millerbernd.
NEW BUSINESS:
First Item of Business:
BCO magnets were available at the ticket table at the March 5th concert. The magnets were very popular, and although there was a sign requesting a donation of $2.00 per magnet, there may have been some confusion with the book markers which were complimentary to concert patrons. Sandy Millerbernd and Tom Larson will take a look at the number of magnets left and the amount of proceeds received to see if they can come up with a fair number to reimburse Tom Larson for his expenses in producing the magnets which were offered for sale. The board felt that the magnets should definitely be available at the May 14th concert
Second Item of Business:
The question was raised as to whether it is a worthwhile effort to create/print/distribute concert publicity posters to area businesses. It has become increasingly difficult to find BCO members who are willing to volunteer to distribute the posters which Erin Walsh spends a good amount of time creating. The Board is very grateful to Dawn Weis for all of her efforts in distributing poster for several of our concerts. Dawn was unable to distribute posters for the March concert, and there were no volunteers to take over for Dawn. Board members did feel that the posters are a worthwhile concert advertising tool, and suggested dividing up the posters amongst the instrument sections in the orchestra, and having each section leader coordinate distribution of the posters by section members according to an assigned list of area businesses. The lists for poster distribution by section will be prepared by Sandy Millerbernd and Dawn Weis. We will see what kind of a response we get from orchestra members on the May 14th concert advertising to determine if this approach is worth continuing.
Third Item of Business:
Brendan Caldwell spoke with Jolyn Halvorson about bringing in additional string players from the University of Minnesota to rehearse and perform in the May 14th concert. BCO board members questioned the need for additional string players, and expressed concern as to the financial cost to BCO. Another important issue of concern was the morale of the local members of BCO’s string section who regularly attend rehearsals, as well as study and prepare their parts outside of the weekly orchestra rehearsal. Board members felt that a decision to bring in additional musicians from the University should be dependant on the score, and that regular members of the string section should be asked how they feel about bringing in additional string musicians from the University. If additional string players are needed, board members felt that there should be a numerical limit on the number of musicians brought in to bolster the string bass, cello, viola, second violin and first violin sections. Board members also felt strongly about taking care of string section members, both past and present. Tom Larson volunteered to put together a list of all string musicians who have played with BCO, which we can then use to periodically contact past members to see if they are interested in playing with BCO once again. A motion was made by Gretchen Katzenberger that Brendan Caldwell be asked to address the BCO Board to request that additional string musicians be brought in and paid for their services for a specific concert. At that time, Brendan will be asked to substantiate the reasons for his request and to give a specific number as to the number of string musicians needed. The motion was seconded by Kristi Brown. Discussion: None. Vote: All in favor. Opposed: None. Motion passed.
Fourth Item of Business
Board members reviewed the “Guidelines for Membership” for possible revisions, and felt that the Guidelines were still appropriate with a minor revision (a copy of the Guidelines for Membership is available under the “Members Only” Section of BCO website). The revision requested by board members was to Guideline No. 3. The revision consists of the addition of the following: “All membership issues, including new members, must be referred to the President and Vice President.” Gretchen Katzenberger will revise the “Guidelines for Membership” for final approval at the next board meeting.
Board members also briefly reviewed an Independent Contractor Agreement form, with the intent that an agreement be prepared between BCO and Brendan Caldwell, and also between BCO and the principal and associate concert masters. The agreements will detail the duties of each position, and the compensation by BCO for the services. Tom Larson will review the agreement forms further, and prepare drafts of the agreements for review by the board at a future meeting.
Fifth Item of Business
Board members discussed the need for more information/review of concert details by the board prior to all orchestra performances. The board would like to begin a concert review process with the May 1st board meeting. The board will request that Brendan Caldwell and Erin Walsh be present at this meeting to review with board members, a draft of the concert program, dress rehearsal plans, details of the pre-concert lecture, and details of the post-concert reception. Gretchen Katzenberger will contact Erin and Brendan to request that they attend the May 1st board meeting.
The next regularly scheduled board meeting will take place on April 3rd at 3 p.m. at Dunn Brothers Coffee.
There being no further business to discuss, a motion was made by Kristi Brown to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Tom Larson. Vote: All in favor. Opposed: None. Discussion: None. Motion passed and meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Gretchen Katzenberger
Buffalo Community Orchestra
Vice President/Secretary