Orchestras Canada

The Canada Council for the Arts has announced the appointment of Aimé Dontigny as the Head of the Music Section, succeeding Russell Kelley, who retired in December. He is an accomplished electro-acoustic musician and administrator who’s been working at the Council since 2007, and he starts right away. Congratulations, Aimé!

Congratulations to the gifted young musicians who took part in NAC Orchestra Bursary Competition this year. The big winners were bassoonist Darren Hicks, flutist Christian Paquette, clarinettist Nicholas Galuban, harpist Antoine Malette-Chénier, and trombonist Riccardo Nazario del Castello, with honourable mentions going to flutists Lara Deutsch and Graham McVeety and oboist Aidan Dugan. The NAC Orchestra Bursary was established in 1979 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the founding of the National Arts Centre Orchestra and to thank the people of the National Capital Region for their support during the Orchestra’s first decade. The first competition took place in 1981. The Bursary Committee and Jury were chaired for the second year by Roderick Bell, passionate music lover, former Canadian Ambassador to Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and an active volunteer at the National Arts Centre.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation has announced that Andrea Cohen, a community health services executive, has been named as its next CEO, succeeding Robin Cardozo.

At its late May concerts with pianist Yevgeny Sudbin, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra will also celebrate the 40th anniversary of its association with Conductor Laureate Kazuyoshi Akiyama. Amazingly, Maestro Akiyama began his twelve year tenure as VSO Music Director in 1972.

The Calgary Philharmonic has advised that the 2012-13 season brings a promotion for Mélanie Léonard, the CPO’s Resident Conductor for the last four seasons. Effective in September, Ms. Léonard will take on the role of Associate Conductor.

Luce Moreau, President and CEO of the Orchestre Metropolitain since 2008, has stepped down from that role, effective immediately.

We’re hard at work putting final touches on the program for BOTH components of Orchestras Canada’s national meetings, taking place in Montreal in late May. Component #1 is the meeting of CEOs, which runs from May 27-29; component #2 – made possible by a visionary foundation partner – is designed for education and community engagement staff of member orchestras, and takes place May 28 and 29.

The meetings are co-hosted by the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal and HEC Montreal. Program highlights include presentations by Dr. Robert Flanagan of Stanford University, Kelly Hill of Hill Strategies Research, Robert Sirman of the Canada Council for the Arts, key faculty at HEC Montreal, Stephen Huddart of the J.W. McConnell Foundation, Phillip Bravo of Carnegie Hall’s Link-Up National and International program, Dr. Ann Patteson of Queen’s University and the Royal Conservatory’s Learning Through the Arts program – and, as a particular highlight, a session with Maestro Kent Nagano, with CBC host/producer Kelly Rice. We’ll get a behind the scenes tour of the Maison symphonique with acoustician Tateo Nakajima. And there’s more!

To view the agenda for the CEOs meeting, please click here.
To view the agenda for the Education/community engagement meeting, please click here.

Two matters of some urgency:

While we’ll be taking registrations right up to a week before the meetings, the deadline for booking hotel rooms at the Hyatt Regency Montreal at our negotiated rate of $137/night is today – April 25. To get more information and to book on-line, please visit orchestrascanada.org.

Tickets for our highlight concert, the sold-out performance by the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal on Monday, May 28, are in very short supply – and we’re distributing them on a first come, first served basis to meeting registrants. Register on-line today, to avoid disappointment.

Much has been written about the federal budget, delivered by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on Thursday, 29 March – and more will be written in weeks to come, as detailed departmental spending estimates are released. In the meanwhile, though, we’ll provide the headlines we think are particularly pertinent to the orchestral sector.

Budget 2012 explicitly indicates that the budget for the Canada Council for the Arts will be maintained at $181 million for 2012-13. We have subsequently received informal confirmation from Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore that three other programs well-used by Canadian orchestras, the Canada Cultural Investment Fund (which includes the Arts Endowment Component), the Cultural Spaces Fund and the Canada Arts Presentations Fund, will maintain funding levels in 2012-13.

As has been widely reported elsewhere, other agencies of the Department of Canadian Heritage have not fared so well, with the National Arts Centre taking an ongoing funding reduction of $1.9 million and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation taking a $115 million cut. The effect of these funding reductions will be clarified in coming days.

While this news provides valued breathing room to Canadian orchestras, it’s fair to say that the notion of “business as usual” has fundamentally changed. Budget 2012 explicitly states that “[o]rganizations within the Canadian Heritage portfolio will streamline corporate support functions, consolidate office space and improve the efficiency of operating processes, improve processes for managing programs and operations, and prioritize grants and contributions. Canadian Heritage will move to a more integrated policy framework that focuses on the socioeconomic benefits that their programs offer to Canadians and their communities. The Department will also focus on funding that leverages contributions from partners.”

Similarly, the Budget Day release from the Canada Council for the Arts quotes Director Robert Sirman as saying that “[t]he government’s decision to maintain the Council’s funding gives us the opportunity to independently take actions that will generate savings that we can reinvest back into the professional arts sector. It will also enable us to ensure our programs continue to be relevant, cost-effective and responsive to the changing needs of the community. Over the next three years we will implement a number of changes that are already in development, including reducing the cost of our office space, streamlining operational processes and adjusting programs.” The release goes on to say, “[i]n the coming months, the Council will review options that address its traditional commitment to the core of creative arts practice while reflecting areas of increasing priority, including equity, public engagement, and national and international market access.”

In addition to the measures specific to arts investment that were announced in Budget 2012, there were also a number of references to the Canadian charitable and not for profit community.

They included:
• the fundraising potential inherent in the discontinuation of the penny;
• stricter guidelines for reporting political activity by charities, and the development and delivery of education programs by the Canada Revenue Agency to ensure that charities are accurately reporting their political activity. By law, charities are able to dedicate as much as 10% of their time and resources to non-partisan political activity; however, new measures will be put in place to better track and report it, including a new section in the annual T3010 form. For more information about this, please visit cra-arc.gc.ca;
• stricter guidelines for charities accepting gifts from foreign sources to underwrite political activity.

Through Arts Day on Parliament Hill and meetings in the ridings, many of Orchestras Canada’s members communicated with Ministers and Members of Parliament to make the case for the three priorities articulated by the Canadian Arts Coalition in 2011-12, namely:
1. Sustaining support to the Canada Council for the Arts;
2. Sustained support for key programs at the Department of Canadian Heritage; and,
3. A renewed federal commitment to international market development for Canadian arts and culture.

Given the challenging economic environment, the fact that the federal government responded favourably to priorities #1 and #2 is nothing less than extraordinary – and it’s now time to say thank you. We urge you to let your MP, Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper know the impact that sustained federal arts investment has an impact in your community – and thank them for the news contained in Budget 2012.

If you’re looking for inspiration, we’ve got you covered. Please click here to see the template correspondence crafted by Orchestras Canada for your use.

Congratulations to Nathan Brock, currently assistant conductor of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, who was awarded the Ontario Arts Council’s Heinz Unger Award at a concert by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra last Saturday evening. Speaking about his unique qualifications for this year’s award, the jury noted “Nathan is at an exciting stage in his career, and exhibits tremendous talent and promise. He has also demonstrated a lifelong interest in orchestral music. His strong commitment to growth and excellence in the art of conducting made him the ideal choice for the Heinz Unger Award.” The award is presented every second year to an outstanding early- or mid-career Canadian conductor, and is administered by the Ontario Arts Council.

We’d also like to convey congratulations to Tricia Baldwin, Managing Director of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Erika Beatty, CEO of Symphony Nova Scotia. They each won a 2012 John Hobday Award for Arts Administration, through the Canada Council for the Arts. Ms. Baldwin will use her award for professional development to travel to two international conferences and interview world leaders who are bringing music to millions through live, recorded and internet-streamed processes. Afterwards, she will present her findings at an Orchestras Canada conference and apply her new knowledge in her work as Managing Director of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir. Ms. Beatty will use her award to be mentored by Pierre Lamoureux, owner of Cinemusica / FogoLabs, one of the top concert film producers in the world. Her goal is to explore how digital and emerging technologies can be used to capture and communicate the beauty and intensity of the performing arts to Canadian and international audiences. Mr. Lamoureux has agreed to share the essentials of his successful commercial business model, including planning, filming and post-production work for clients as varied as opera and ballet companies, to touring bands and documentary productions.

The Canada Council for the Arts has announced an April 1 deadline for applications for this year’s Musical Instrument Bank competition. Here’s what the Canada Council says about the competition:

Every 3 years, talented Canadian classical musicians compete for the chance to borrow legendary instruments from the Canada Council’s Musical Instrument Bank (MIB). The competition is intense and is decided by a jury of professional musicians and peers. Musicians who win the competition are often invited to perform with their instruments on some of the world’s most celebrated stages. The MIB includes close to 20 magnificent instruments worth a total of over $29 million. These violins, cellos and bows, created by such master craftsmen as Stradivari, Gagliano and Pressenda, have been donated or lent to the MIB since it was created in 1985.

To learn more – and to apply – please visit canadacouncil.ca.

As living proof that there’s no rest for the wicked, we’ve been busy at Orchestras Canada in recent weeks! Here’s a quick update on a few of the things that we’ve been working on.

Youth Orchestra Task Force: Recruitment is complete, and we’re now working on scheduling the first meeting of a new task force that will study the current state and needs of Canadian youth orchestras. We are grateful to the following people for stepping forward to serve on the task force, east to west:
Ken MacLeod, New Brunswick Youth Orchestra (chair)
Louise Richard, Association des orchestres de jeunes du Quebec
John Gomez, Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy
Diana Weir, Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra
Paul Dornian, Mount Royal Conservatory
Sheila Redhead, Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra

Comparative Reports for 2010-11: Do you love orchestra data? If so, we have a treat for you. With the co-operation of 65 Canadian orchestras, from small to huge, OC’s intrepid statistician, C. Stephen Smith, has completed work on this year’s Comparative Report – a compendium of contextual, financial and audience data from the 2010-11 season. While the detailed report is only available to participating orchestras, we’ve published two summary reports (by region of the country and budget size) on our website – and you can view them here.

Final touches are being put on a brand-new report by Kelly Hill of Hill Strategies Research, commissioned by Orchestras Canada with support from the Ontario Arts Endowment Fund. To complement our annual Comparative Report study, we’ve asked Kelly to report on the observable trends from six years of data from fifty consistently-participating Canadian orchestras, 2004-05 to 2009-10. Watch this space: we’ll let you know when it’s posted (in both languages, bien sûr!) on our website.

Planning for the National Orchestras Meetings in Montréal: The full program for the 2012 national orchestras meeting will start at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 27 and it will wrap up at 12 noon on Tuesday, May 29. Confirmed program highlights include presentations by Professor Robert Flanagan, author of the recently-published The Perilous Life of Symphony Orchestras; key staff at HEC Montreal; Kent Nagano, music director of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal; and Robert Sirman, director of the Canada Council for the Arts. Delegates will also be attending a SOLD OUT concert by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, led by Maestro Nagano and featuring Cirque Eloize, in a new “imagining” of Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe. We are also planning a parallel program for symphony education and community engagement staff, May 28-29. For more information, click here.

This past weekend, members of the Orchestras Canada board of directors met in Toronto to kick off the development of a new strategic plan for OC. Working with Peter O’Donnell and Linda Spence of Healthy Futures Group, the OC board engaged in 1.5 days of intense discussion, attended performances by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, and re-affirmed our belief that Canadian orchestras have an intelligent and brave group of directors working on their behalf. While the plan itself will not be complete for a number of months, we can hint that the following themes will almost surely be explored in it:

Smart positioning of Canadian orchestras – with government bodies, the Canadian public and businesses and philanthropic funders
Collective action – enhancing and expanding partnerships and collaborations
Network building – providing the tools and venues to Canadian orchestras to learn together, build common cause, and better support one another

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!