In attendance: Hanan Bell, Joan Fairbanks, Charlotte Hotchkiss, Jackie Kirn, Teresa Metzger-Howe, Koko Morgan, Doug Potter, Bruce Sherman, Anne Warner, and Gennie Winkler
Minutes
The minutes for both the October 4, 2022 Board Meeting and November 9, 2022 General Meeting were approved unanimously
Finance Report
As of June 30, 2022, Rain City Symphony's total assets were $35,864. On December 1, 2022, they were at $33,565. Donations from Fall Quarter were $5,550 which was a little more than our outflows of $5,121. We have not received our grant money from the King County, nor the City of Seattle, which are around $6,000. These grants will be applied to the last fiscal year.
Grants
The King County 4Culture grant and the City of Seattle Arts and Culture grant money should be available soon. Looking ahead, Jackie will be contacting each agency to find out when the next deadlines are.
Membership
The membership policy is if someone donates or lets Anne know he/she is not able to donate, then his or her name will be on the website and in the concert program. Verification of who is playing with Symphony can be done by asking the section leader. The donation procedure will be for Anne to ask the members to donate and let them know about the policy. Both she and Bruce will accept the donations. Bruce will ask for donations in Anne's absence. The last donation plea will be during the 5th rehearsal.
Music Director
Teresa was pleased with the Fall concert. The sound reverberates in St. Andrew's Church, but after the warm-up the orchestra got used to it. The seating for the brass section was a little cramped. Before the next concert, this will be addressed.
The topic of chamber groups playing prior to the Symphony was brought up. Programs are getting longer and wanting to keep the orchestra has the focal point of the concert, Teresa no longer wants chamber groups play. Gennie offered to organize a chamber group concert at the Music Center of the Northwest, if there are enough groups who wanted to play.
Another concern that needs to be addressed, is necessity to practice when you are absent from rehearsal. Teresa will emphasize this at the beginning of the rehearsal. Each member needs to let the section leaders and Teresa know when they are going to be absent. Attendance policy needs to encourage practicing. Perhaps, this information and other Symphony member expectations should be sent out to all members at the start of each quarter. All Board members need to read the attendance policy and send Jackie their suggestions, if any.
Concert
The Fall Concert attendance was about 100 people. They donated $875 to the United Churches Emergency Fund. Robbie took care of setup and un-breakdown of the Concert Venue. A big thanks to her. The concert is posted on our YouTube site.
We will not be able to go to Joephium for the Spring 2023 pre-concert. The Board didn't feel it would be a safe place to play because of their lackadaisical Covid policy
For the next two concerts we have to manage the front of the house which includes handing out programs and watching the donation box.
Election of Officers for 2023
The following people were elected as officers to the Board of Directors:
President: Doug
Vice President: Gennie
Secretary: Koko
Treasurer: Bruce
Joan Fairbanks was welcomed as a new member of the Board. The position that needs filling is the Venue Coordinator. She would like to know more about the tasks involved in this position. We need to figure out how to offer our concert via YouTube to retirement homes. The homes might be able to stream the concert to their retirees.
Other Duties and Job Responsibilities
We might need to consider having a paid computer technician position to manage our website. The position would require about two hours of work per week.
Covid Policy for Next Quarter
Covid Policy will be to require masks, and to stay home if you are sick. The windows need to be open with the fans blowing out.
Reaching Out to Diverse Populations
The King County Office of Arts and Culture wants to know how we reach out to diverse populations. One thought was to ask them to suggest how to do this. How have other groups served them? Bruce will be meeting with the Atlantic Street Center, they serve communities of color, perhaps they might have suggestions.
Next Meeting
The next meeting is February 1, 2023 6:30 pm at the Music Center of the Northwest.
