NORTHWEST CHORAL SOCIETY
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE WHOLE
& ELECTION OF BOARD MEMBERS
MEETING MINUTES
May 19, 2015
CALL TO ORDER:
The Annual Meeting of the Whole and the Election of Board Members 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 9:07 PM by NWCS Board President Penny Perles.
REPORT FROM ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
- Alan Wellman has completed five years with our chorus. He had set three main goals which have all been fulfilled:
1. Expand our repertoire. We have sung music from Motown and Broadway to requiems, Anglican choral music and Annelies this spring.
2. Expand our audience base and our presence in the community. We have done several outreach programs each year, some with compensation, others without. Besides the northwest suburbs, we have sung in Oak Park, Evanston and at the CSO.
3. Collaborate with other ensembles. We are in the process of recording a CD with the Gargoyle Brass and next spring we will present a concert together with the chorus of the First Presbyterian Church of Arlington Heights.
- Alan also named some of the music we will be singing next season. In December we will perform Conrad Susa’s A Christmas Garland with the Gargoyle Brass. Next spring we will present Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna and some pieces by Brahms. Then for our 50th anniversary concert we will sing a few of the most loved songs from our concerts each decade.
COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON REPORTS:
- Promotions Committee chairperson Diane Szuberla presented the ticket and attendance results for our December 2014 and this April’s concerts. She compared these results to the same concerts since 2011. (Report attached at end.)
- Treasurer Noreen LaValle presented the Profit & Loss Budget vs. Actual July 1, 2014 through May 18, 2015 report. (Report attached at end.)
- Board President Penny Perles presented the Revenue Stream for the Five Years 2010 – 2015 report (income). In 2012 we introduced the Annual Support Fund where each chorus member is encouraged to donate according to his means. The last few years we have also concentrated on appealing for corporate contributions. One of our goals for the next year is to encourage more donations from our audience members. (Report attached at end.)
ELECTION OF BOARD MEMBERS:
- Penny presented two present board members whose terms have expired, but have agreed to run again for the 2015 – 2017 term (2 year term): Kelsey Green and Noreen LaValle. New member Angela Carlson has also accepted the nomination to run for a two year term.
- Present board member John Schindler, whose term has also expired, has agreed to run for a one year term. The one year term will enable us to balance the number of members whose terms expire the same year.
- Penny then opened nominations to the general membership, but no more names were forthcoming. Nominations were closed.
- Penny made a motion to accept the above list of four candidates – Kelsey, Noreen, Angela and John – for board membership. Sue Schennums supported the motion with a ‘so moved’. Jackie Hetzner seconded the motion. By voice vote of “aye” from the members present, the above list of candidates was elected to the board of NWCS. There were no “nay” votes.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- Our end of year party will be after our concert June 13th at Emmett’s Brewing Co., Palatine. Each person will order from the general menu and pay their own tab. There is a signup sheet. Please also included the number of guests.
- All the information about the June concert is posted on our website.
- For the concert we will wear bright colored polo shirts and black slacks. The shirts will be ordered locally and cost about $10.00. Penny will bring some sample shirts to the next rehearsal to try on for size.
- Our summer rehearsal schedule has already been sent out by email. David Hitch will make CDs of our next December’s concert music at a cost of $3.00 each.
- Our Meet & Greet will be next week at 6:30 PM. David has prepared a three and a half minute presentation.
- There are more posters and postcards available for distributing and sending.
- Please give Meredith Bechtel ideas about our most loved music from the last five decades.
ADJOURNMENT:
The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 PM by a motion from Noreen and a second from Bert Matulis. The motion passed.
Ruta Veitmanis
Recording Secretary
Northwest Choral Society