Earlier this week, orchestra people from across Canada met in Winnipeg, MB at Orchestras Canada’s annual national meetings, co-hosted by the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

It was an action packed few days, as over 50 delegates at the meeting took part in expert presentations on working better with data, collaborations with First Nations and Aboriginal communities, ground-breaking recent research on audience and patron growth, negotiating skills, and better governance. But it wasn’t all work: we were privileged to attend the opening of the Winnipeg Symphony’s 2nd annual Indigenous Festival, to hear short performances by both Andrew Balfour’s remarkable Camerata Nova choir and the outreach ensemble of the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, and to watch an exceptionally engaging documentary on the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal’s 2008 trip to Nunavik. Peer to peer learning was also highlighted, and we’re grateful to leaders from Halifax, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ottawa, Kitchener-Waterloo, Edmonton, Vancouver and Nanaimo for sharing innovative practices and projects with their colleagues.

If you weren’t there, do not fret! You can still share in the experience: over the coming weeks, Orchestras Canada will be posting resources and podcasts from national meetings sessions on our website, and we look forward to letting you know when key resources are ready to share.

None of this could have happened without the support, energy and intelligence of many, many people. We’d like to thank

• The organizing committee: Leanne Atkinson of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, Thérèse Boutin of the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières; Trudy Schroeder of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Vicki Young of the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra.
• Our host organizations: the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra – both of whom mobilized all of their resources to ensure that our program was full , and our guests treated graciously;
• Expert presenters: Robert Friend, VP Choice Ticketing Systems; facilitator Sam Baardman and panelists Sam Baardman, Vince Fontaine, JF Phaneuf, Lisa Abrams and Tanya Derksen (all from the WSO); mezzo soprano Marion Newman; Vicki Young and Boyd Mackenzie from the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra; Cameron Baggins from the Frontier School Division; Alan Greyeyes from the Aboriginal Music Project at Manitoba Music; Andrew Balfour and Camerata Nova; Jack McAuliffe of Engaged Audiences LLP and Kate Prescott of Prescott Associates; Francis Handy of the Stitt Feld Handy Group; and David Brown of Brown Governance.
• Meeting funders and sponsors: the Canada Council for the Arts, whose support enabled many people from smaller budget orchestras to attend; the Department of Canadian Heritage; the Manitoba Arts Council; the Winnipeg Foundation; the Thomas Sill Foundation; Arts and Cultural Industries Manitoba; and coffee break sponsors Cowan Insurance, Dean Artists, Domoney Artists and Long and McQuade.
• A wonderful group of volunteers, recruited for us by ACI Manitoba, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra;
• OC staff members Jennifer Caines and Diann Missal and OC statistician C. Stephen Smith.

A heart-felt thank to all of these people and organizations – and to the artists and cultural organizations of the city of Winnipeg – who welcomed us so very hospitably.