Orchestras Canada

We’re issuing “hold the date” advisories for three upcoming Orchestras Canada learning and networking activities:

1. Webinar on Audiences, Markets and Engagement
Canada’s Performing Arts Alliance is presenting a webinar for performing arts managers and marketers.

Audiences, Markets and Engagement in the Performing Arts
Presenter: Kelly Hill, President, Hill Strategies Research

This webinar will highlight key information on performing arts audiences, marketing and engagement, with an emphasis on research findings that performing arts managers and marketers can apply to their day-to-day work in the sector. The presentation will include information about performing arts attendance, consumer spending, audience motivations and audience engagement. The goal of the session is to leave participants with relevant data that can help them increase the efficiency of their marketing, fundraising and communication endeavours, as well as inspiring participants to find new ways of reaching audiences and sponsors.

The webinar will be delivered three times in English and French:
Thursday, February 2, 13:00 (ET) – English -  Register
Monday, February 6, 13:00 (ET) – French -  Register
Tuesday, February 7, 14:00 (ET) – English -  Register

Cost:
• Registration is free for members of a Performing Arts Alliance association (Canadian Dance Assembly, CAPACOA, Opera.ca, Orchestras Canada, PACT).
• Registration is $25.00 + HST for all other participants.

Kelly Hill’s presentation is funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council in conjunction with their funding of the Statistical Insights on the Arts series.

2. Workshop on Promotion, Marketing and Audience Development

When? Friday, March 2 (evening) to Sunday, March 4 (noon).

Where? Toronto

What? A workshop designed to help Ontario’s small budget orchestras and volunteer classical music presenters
• diversify and engage audiences
• program with confidence
• sell more tickets

Who’s Putting It On? The workshop is a partnership between Orchestras Canada and CCI – Ontario Presenting Network, with support from the Ontario Arts Investment Fund. Lead presenters are Lendre Kearns, Judy Harquail and Cheryl Ewing – and there will be special guests as well.

Who’s It For? Volunteers and staff from Ontario’s small budget orchestras and volunteer classical music presenting groups. Enrollment will be capped at 50 people, and we’d encourage you to sign up two people from your organization to maximize your learnings!

How Much? Pricing and registration details are TBA, but we’ll keep it reasonable. We’re also working on accessing travel subsidies and great hotel prices for out-of-towners.

How Do I Register? Watch Orchestras Canada’s newsletter & website AND your email for updates.

3. Orchestras Canada National Orchestra Meetings
The program is being planned and logistical details are being sorted out – and we’re getting ever more excited about OC’s National Meetings 2012. They’re in Montreal this year, co-hosted by the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal, and they run from May 27 (mid-day) to May 29 (mid-day). More details will be available by the end of January – watch this space!

Earlier this week, 75 representatives of national arts service organizations – including Orchestras Canada’s Board Chair Thérèse Boutin and Executive Director Katherine Carleton – took part in a meeting in Ottawa hosted by the Canada Council for the Arts. One of the highlights of the meeting was a presentation by Canada Council Director and CEO Robert Sirman, during which he elaborated on the Council’s current perspective on funding, priorities and challenges, Council’s corporate plan, and the Government of Canada’s Deficit Reduction Action Plan (DRAP).

Here are some key points of Mr. Sirman’s presentation:

Canada Council’s parliamentary appropriation for 2011-12 is $181 million: it is unchanged since 2007.

Council is either experiencing or anticipating three new and distinct forms of financial pressure:
1. Income from endowments, traditionally 5-6% of Council’s budget, is lower than usual due to the performance of the Council’s investment portfolio;
2. Council is affected by fiscal restraint legislation that covers all federal government departments and agencies. Administrative and overhead costs cannot exceed a baseline established in 2010-11. In partial response to this, the Canada Council will be moving its offices in just over 2 years; this move is projected to save the Council a significant amount of money each year, while providing the organization with a notable branding opportunity;
3. Like every other part of government, Council has been asked to participate in the Government of Canada’s Deficit Reduction Action Plan (DRAP), an exercise designed to bring government spending back into balance by 2014-15. DRAP applies to every federal government department and agency, including the Canada Council, Department of Canadian Heritage, Industry Canada, the CBC and HRSDC. Council has submitted scenarios for 5% and 10% spending cuts to Treasury Board, and Treasury Board’s decisions for 2012-13 will be conveyed next February or March. Only then will Council know its spending targets for the fiscal year that starts April 1, 2012.The scenarios submitted by Council are protected by cabinet confidentiality, and even senior staff at Council are not apprised of their content. Mr. Sirman stated strongly that there is no evidence that the Canada Council will be a particular target for cuts; at the same time, there is every indication that the Council will be asked to contribute to savings targets. He also noted that Council will not be in a position to make up shortfalls created by funding reductions from other federal funders.

Despite these pressures, Council is committed to its core mandate and to regularly and thoroughly evaluating the effectiveness of its work and the responsiveness of its programs to the evolution of the arts in Canada. Mr. Sirman reminded attendees of the five themes in Council’s last strategic plan – and three more recent elaborations of those themes:
1. The role of the individual artist
2. The role of arts organizations
3. Equity
4. Partnerships
5. Internal Capacity

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6. Facilitating greater synergy within the existing arts infrastructure to enhance sustainability and adaptability.
7. Increasing Council’s focus on the impact of the transition to a digital society on the arts.
8. Advancing a public conversation on the value that art and artists make to everyday life.

Readers who are interested in knowing more can review the Council’s corporate documents at canadacouncil.ca.

Mr. Sirman shared some thoughts on potentially resonant (and less-resonant) messaging from the arts community.

Resonant Messages
• Job retention and job creation are key;
• Stabilizing the economy and strengthening Canada’s economic position are enormously important: thus the current Deficit Reduction Action Plan;
• Issues related to freedom of expression are important – and they do not affect artists only.

Less-resonant Messages
• There is no appetite to revive the cancelled programs of support for international market development and cultural diplomacy. If the Government of Canada re-engages in this area at a later date, the approach will be a very different one.
• The concept of special treatment for certain individuals or groups has limited traction: arguments are most successfully framed when they’re presented in light of their impact on a broad group of Canadians.

In all, we benefited from a candid and well-informed report from the Canada Council’s staff leader – and we hope our readers appreciate it, too.

Orchestras Canada, through our membership in Canada’s Performing Arts Alliance, is happy to announce that we’ve received funding to present two bilingual webinars with guest presenter Kelly Hill, devoted to audience and marketing trends in the performing arts in Canada. We are grateful to the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for funding this initiative, in conjunction with their funding of the Statistical Insights on the Arts series.

Watch Orchestra News for more information about dates and sign-up!

Nominations for the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards for 2012 are being accepted from now until September 23, 2011. The process is simple and you can do it online. A letter of recommendation and a short biography of the nominee are all that are required for your favourite Canadian performing artist to be in the running.For complete details, visit
www.ggpaa.ca.

The Canada Council for the Arts has announced a September 30 deadline for the 2011 John Hobday Awards in Arts Management. The Awards, named after a past director of the Canada Council (and a long-time friend to Canadian orchestras), are awarded annually to experienced managers and  future leaders in arts management, in the categories of Professional Development and Renewal; and Mentorship. To learn more about the awards, please visit: www.canadacouncil.ca.

Congratulations to cellist Kaori Yamagami, who is the 2011 recipient of the Virginia Parker Prize, administered by the Canada Council for the Arts. The $25,000 prize was established in 1982 by Virginia Parker for Canadian performers of classical music under the age of 32, who demonstrate outstanding talent and musicianship. “I am extremely honoured to be the winner of the 2011 Virginia Parker Prize. I hope to live up to all the expectations which come with this honour,” said the internationally recognized cellist. “One of my largest hopes is to be more present as an artist in Canada. I am eternally grateful for the support of the Canada Council for the Arts which made a significant difference in my development as a musician and played a huge role in where I am today.”

Our condolences to the family and friends of composer Malcolm Forsyth who passed away on July 5. His artfully scored, rhythmically vital music was popular with audiences and performers alike. He will be missed.

We also extend our thoughts to the family and friends of the late Pierrette Alarie, the celebrated Canadian soprano who died on July 10. The purity and conviction of her interpretations of the music of Mozart will shine as long as humans have ears.

On a cheerier note, congratulations to Laura Thomas, recently named Music Director of the Dundas Valley Orchestra. She succeeds Dr. Glenn Mallory, who retired from the role at the end of the 2011 season.

We continue to post program updates for the National Orchestras Meetings in Vancouver in June – and you can find the latest information about the gathering on our website, here.

If electronic media and digital strategy interests you, we’ll spend time on that on Day 1, June 13. We’re especially excited about Revenue Day – Tuesday, June 14 – during which fundraising and marketing experts from across North America will join us to lead sessions on subscription growth, social media applications, legacy fundraising, fundraising ethics, developing a compelling case for support, talking to donors, and a full update on the Patron Growth Initiative. And we’re making time on June 15 for the peer group discussions that you most value – along with the opportunity to help set Orchestras Canada’s advocacy and programming priorities for the year – and years – ahead.

None of this happens without the help of some very special people and companies. (As many of you are accustomed to writing in your fundraising materials, “ticket revenue covers only a small portion of the costs of presenting this concert.” We’re the same.)

The Canada Council for the Arts has generously underwritten travel subsidies for the meetings, and we thank them on your behalf.

We’re thrilled to announce that again this year Great West Life has come on board as a sponsor for the National Orchestras Meetings. Their support will sponsor translation for the conference sessions, June 13-15 and for the creation of multimedia presentations (in both languages) for distribution to orchestras across Canada following the meeting. Our sincere thanks to Great West Life for their continued support.

And we are humbled to acknowledge a significant gift from Dr. George Freundlich, in support of the national meetings. Dr. George has been a long-time and valued friend and advisor to OC, and we really could not do what we do without him.

The Canada Council has announced a June 1 deadline for submissions for the Jules Leger Prize for New Chamber Music, a competition for Canadian composers that is designed to encourage the creation of new chamber music and to foster its performance by Canadian chamber groups. For more information, please visit canadacouncil.ca/prizes/jules_leger.

On Wednesday afternoon in Toronto, the Canada Council for the Arts released its new strategic plan, entitled Strengthening Connections. The plan covers the period 2011-16, and builds on “Moving Forward”, the Council’s previous 3-year plan.

In brief, the plan will:
• Continue with the five directions outlined in its 2008-11 plan.
• Reinforce the Council’s commitment to individual artists working alone or collaboratively, as the core of artistic practice in Canada.
• Broaden the Council’s commitment to arts organizations to strengthen their capacity to underpin artistic practices in all parts of the country.
• Enhance the Council’s leadership role in promoting equity as a critical priority in fulfilling Canada’s artistic aspirations.
• Make partnerships with other organizations a key element to the Council’s approach to advancing its mandate.
• Enhance the Council’s capacity to support the arts and implement change by strengthening its structure, staffing and services.
• These five directions will have an overlay of three themes:
• Facilitate greater synergy within the existing arts infrastructure to enhance sustainability and adaptability.
• Increase Council’s focus on the impact of the transition to a digital society on the arts.
• Advance a public conversation on the value that art and artists make to everyday life
In the coming weeks, Orchestras Canada’s advocacy committee will be considering the implications of the plan for the country’s orchestras, and we’ll report in once those deliberations have taken place.

For more information, and to read the plan, please visit canadacouncil.ca.

The Canada Council for the Arts and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada are accepting nominations for the 2011 Molson Prizes. Two prizes, worth $50,000 each, are awarded annually – one for the arts, one for the humanities or social sciences. For more information about eligibility and procedures, please visit canadacouncil.ca.

Earlier this week, the Canada Council for the Arts announced the creation of the Canada Council Michael Measures Prize to recognize promising young performers of classical music through a partnership with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (NYOC). The award is being established thanks to a $1 million bequest to the Canada Council from the late Michael Measures, a music enthusiast and long-time volunteer in the Ottawa arts community. The prize will be awarded annually to a single recipient from the income generated by the endowment – and the first $15,000 award will be presented in 2011.

The NYOC will coordinate and supervise the administration of the competition and selection of the annual winner. A recipient, between the ages of 16-22, will be chosen from those who have successfully completed the annual summer training program.

“This is excellent news for young musicians from across the country, as it will allow the recipients to kick start their careers on the Canadian stage,” says NYOC Chair Randy Barber. “The opportunity to win such a large prize will also allow the NYOC to draw a high caliber of applicants, thus ensuring that we will continue to foster the careers of this country’s most talented young musicians by providing them with a top quality orchestral experience.”

For more information about the award, please visit the NYOC’s website.