NORTHWEST CHORAL SOCIETY
MEETING MINUTES
September 15, 2015
CALL TO ORDER:
The September 2015 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 6:32 PM by NWCS Board Vice President David Hitch.
The following board members were present:
Meredith Bechtel Noreen LaValle
Robyn Waldman Borek Mary Jane Matecki
Angela Carlson John Schindler
Greykell Dutton Diane Szuberla
Kelsey Green Ruta Veitmanis
David Hitch
Also present: Alan Wellman, Artistic Director.
MEETING MINUTES:
The meeting minutes of the August 11th board meeting were reviewed. No corrections were needed.
Noreen LaValle made a motion to accept the minutes. The motion was seconded by Mary Jane Matecki. The motion passed.
TREASURER’S REPORT:
Noreen LaValle presented the treasurer’s report for August. Cash disbursements totaled $1,356.00. Cash receipts totaled $2,160.00. Our regular account balance now was $6,778.48. Including petty cash, our final total was $6,813.48. Mary Jane Matecki made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report. The motion was seconded by Meredith Bechtel. The motion passed.
MUSIC DIRECTOR:
- Alan Wellman has finalized the music for our CD: O Come All Ye Faithful, In Dulci Jubilo, In Ecclessiis, Hodie, Once in Royal, O Come Emmanuel, Angel Gloria, Et in Terra Pax, He Shall Feed His Flock, Dancing Day and the already recorded Christmas Cantata.
- Alan is looking for a new venue for our Saturday recording session with the Gargoyle Brass. We need a more vibrant space. We will still record our music that is without the Gargoyle Brass at the First Presbyterian Church in Arlington Heights.
- The voice placement sessions with the altos is complete. Alan has contracted Jade Maze to give 20 – 30 minute individual voice lessons to chorus members. These would take place during rehearsal time at a cost to the member of $15 for 20 minutes and $20 for 30 minutes. During voice placement sessions, Alan will recommend to singers, as needed, that they take these lessons. Voice placement sessions will continue in January for sopranos and in March for tenors and basses.
- Of the five singers who auditioned for our chorus, Alan accepted three of them – two sopranos and one alto.
PROMOTIONS:
Mary Jane announced that our season flyer has been sent out.
ADVERTISING COMMITTEE:
Kelsey Green announced that the letter and information for advertisers is ready and can be picked up by chorus members this evening. This information will also be available on our website. We will end the advertising campaign October 13th.
DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE:
Mary Jane announced that she has two versions of the letter to our donors – one for those who donated last year and the other for all other potential donors. These letters will be sent out around October 2nd.
FACILITIES COMMITTEE:
John Schindler submitted our renewed contract for rehearsal space at St. Martin’s. There are no changes. St. Martin’s refunded us $880.00 that we had overpaid them.
FACEBOOK:
Mary Jane, Kelsey and Robyn Waldman Borek continue to post on our Facebook page.
GRAPHIC DESIGN:
- For the time being, we will use the graphic design/print shop at Harper College.
- Penny Perles sent our Christmas concert postcard, poster and ticket to the print shop, but they will not be printed yet.
WEBSITE:
The website committee continues to solve problems as they arise. We will be able sell our CDs in MP3 format through PayPal.
50th ANNIVERSARY COMMITTEE:
- Board members discussed the types of items we should have for a raffle or silent auction. The higher the value and quality of the items, the more successful the raffle/auction will be. We need the help of chorus members to secure these donations. Items should be secured by January.
- Meredith alrea
dy has an extensive list of music ideas for the anniversary concert. She requests that all suggestions be submitted to her in writing. The final selections will be made in January.
2017 TRIP:
In addition to the Sing’n’Joy Princeton 2017 event (Interkultur.com), Alan presented two new ideas:
- The annual Windy City Choral Festival where mixed choirs from across North America come together to sing in Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center. The Artistic Director is Z. Randall Stroope. The advantage of this event is that it is here in Chicago. The next festival is April 14-16, 2016.
- Manhattan Concert Promotions.
OLD BUSINESS:
Angela Carlson has updated our Handbook and has sent the finished copy to Penny. However, she does have a few questions which Mary Jane will help answer.
NEW BUSINESS:
Our Annual Support Fund will begin the first week of October.
NEXT MEETING:
Our next Board Meeting will be Tuesday, October 13th, 6:30 PM, before rehearsal at St. Martin’s.
ADJOURNMENT:
The Board Meeting was adjourned at 7:20 PM by a motion from Noreen and a second from Mary Jane. The motion passed.
Ruta Veitmanis, Recording Secretary
Northwest Choral Society