February, 2016

NORTHWEST CHORAL SOCIETY
MEETING MINUTES
February 9, 2016
 
 
CALL TO ORDER:
The February 2016 Board Meeting of the Northwest Choral Society was held at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, 1095 Dempster/Thacker, Des Plaines, IL. The meeting was called to order at 6:40 PM by NWCS President Penny Perles.  The following board members were present:
Meredith Bechtel Mary Jane Matecki
Angela Carlson Penny Perles
Kelsey Green Diane Szuberla
David Hitch Ruta Veitmanis
Noreen LaValle
Also present:  Alan Wellman, Artistic Director
 
MEETING  MINUTES:
The meeting minutes of the January 12, 2016 board meeting were reviewed.  No corrections were needed.  Mary Jane Matecki made a motion to accept the minutes.  The motion was seconded by Diane Szuberla.  The motion passed.
 
 
TREASURER’S  REPORT:
Noreen LaValle presented the treasurer’s report for January 2016.  Cash disbursements totaled $3,543.77.  Cash receipts totaled $2,809.98.  Our regular account balance now was $16,849.25.  Including petty cash, our final total was $16,884.25.  One correction was needed: under cash disbursements, check #1956 was an expense in the production of our CD (not a website expense).  Kelsey Green made a motion to accept the corrected treasurer’s report.  The motion was seconded by David Hitch.  The motion passed.  
 
 
MUSIC  DIRECTOR:
  • Alan Wellman has secured all the musicians for our April concert: 4 strings ($250.00 each), 4 winds ($150.00 each) and an organist ($500.00).  This covers their participation in the Tuesday and Friday rehearsals and the Saturday and Sunday performances.
  • At our 50th anniversary concert in June, we will invite former chorus members to join us in the last 2 or 3 songs.  To be able to join us, they must at least attend the Friday evening rehearsal, but also attending the Tuesday evening rehearsal would be preferred. 
  • For the Windy City Choral Festival we must send them the voice each participant will sing and their height.  We will not know if we are selected for a solo piece until after February 15th.
  • Alan announced the music for our 2016/17 concert season:

°December – Bach Christmas Oratorio and Finzi Magnificat

°  March – Gounod Solemn Mass
°  For the June concert Alan will continue the ‘something old, something new’ theme.  We will sing songs from living composers as well as some light classics from the old masters.  Alan would also like to commission a piece from a younger composer.
 
 
PROMOTIONS:
We will send complimentary tickets for our 50th anniversary dinner to three of our best donors and several of our most loyal audience members.
 
 
ADVERTISING  COMMITTEE:
  • Kelsey stated that we still haven’t received the last $100.00 from an advertiser in our program book.
  • She also explained that she has heard from several of our members seeking ads from companies that by September/October these companies have already spend their advertising money for the year.  Could we start our ad campaign sooner?  Kelsey will prepare the ad packets and hand them out to members already in June.  Then they can approach potential advertisers during the summer.
DEVELOPMENT  COMMITTEE:
On this first visit, David did not have success getting Glenview State Bank as a corporate sponsor.  He will approach them again in March.
 
 
FACEBOOK:
  • Kelsey asked board members for ideas on what to place on our Facebook page.  Suggested subjects included: our Christmas CD, our next concert, our 50th anniversary concert and dinner, interesting facts about the chorus’s past and our participation in the smile.amazon.com program.
  • Kelsey will also give the April pre-concert lecture.
GRAPHIC  DESIGN:
We are working on the poster and postcard for the April concert.
 
 
WEBSITE:
Mary Jane will post on our website information about our an
niversary dinner and the list of items for the silent auction.  She will also post the information about the smile.amazon.com program.
 
 
SUNSHINE  COMMITTEE:
Mary Jane sent flowers to Barbara Zeleny who had surgery.
 
 
CD  PRODUCTION:
  • We’ve sold 220 CDs with an income of $3,300.00.  Since each CD cost $13.69, our profit is small.  The real profit begins if we produce more of this CD for future Christmas’s or use any of these songs on other CDs.  The suggestion was made to perhaps start a fund for future CD productions.  Also, perhaps periodically make quality recordings of individual pieces or concerts which can then be combined into a future CD.  
  • Mary Jane sent a thank you letter and our CD to Z. R. Stroope thanking him for giving her an interview for the program notes for the CD.
OLD  BUSINESS:
  • Penny brought a sample tote bag.  Board members liked that the bag had a zipper and an outside pocket.  However, the quality of the material was poor.  Penny will look for a sturdier bag.
  • The anniversary committee is looking for pins to recognize individual members’ years of participation in our chorus.  The pins shouldn’t cost more than about $5.00 to $10.00.
NEW  BUSINESS:
  • We now have business cards to pass out to our acquaintances which not only tell about us, but also about our smile.amazon.com program.
  • We have prepared a list of all the songs proposed for our June concert.  The list will be passed out to all the members and they will be asked to vote for their 10 favorite pieces.  The full directions are included.
NEXT MEETING:
Our next Board Meeting will be Tuesday, March 8th, 6:30 PM, before rehearsal at St. Martin’s.
 
 
ADJOURNMENT:
The Board Meeting was adjourned at 7:22 PM by a motion from Noreen and a second from Mary Jane.  The motion passed.
 
 
Ruta Veitmanis
Recording Secretary 
Northwest Choral Society