Orchestras Canada

The Cultural Careers Council of Ontario has announced the spring edition of its acclaimed 7-week business skills training course for artists, The Business of Art. The program starts April 2 and will be held in the offices of Arts Etobicoke, in Toronto’s west end. Enrollment is limited; to learn more, and submit an application, please visit workinculture.ca.

Work in Culture, the Cultural Careers Council of Ontario is launching a survey of the professional development and training needs of artists. It’s a quick 10-minute survey, designed to better focus CCCO’s offerings for professional artists, and you can link to it, here.

The Cultural Careers Council of Ontario and Canadian Women in Communications have launched the Digital Convergence Executive Series, with three action-packed days of presentation and discussion on the opportunities and challenges of pursuing (and monetizing) digital strategies. The events run September 29, October 12 and November 16, and take place at Blakes LLP in downtown Toronto. For more information, and to register, please click here: cwc-afc.com.

The US-based National Arts Strategies has just announced a new program, developed in partnership with Spain’s IESE Business School. Entitled “Arts and Cultural Management: From Service Design to Success”, the program focuses on how arts and culture organizations can better design of patron experiences, integrating customer service initiatives with the overall patron experience. Recruitment is international, and the program will be delivered in New York in April 2012. Program participants will be able to answer the following questions by the end of the seminar:
How does our approach to service and the complete experience we create for our audience fuel or foil our mission, our artistic objectives and our financial opportunities? How do we integrate experience design into the core strategic vision of a cultural organization? Visit artstrategies.org.

The HR Council for the Voluntary Sector, PwC, Blumberg Segal LLP and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants are hosting a free 1.5-hour webinar on October 26 on the role of the Not-For-Profit Board Treasurer. The discussion will feature the results from recent round table discussions with Board Treasurers from across the sector, a review of leading tools and resources available for your reference, interactive polls, subject matter expertise and leading practitioners who can answer your burning questions. For more information, and to register, please visit: connect.hrcouncil.ca.

The Sooke Philharmonic Society has announced the results of its 5th Annual Don Chrysler Concerto Competition for Young Musicians, held on May 1st at the Philip T. Young Recital Hall, University of Victoria. The competition adjudicators were Marc Destrubé, Ross Ingstrup and Gordon Macpherson. The 1st prize winner was Phillip Manning, violin. Phillip performed Violin Concerto No. 1, by Max Bruch. He will perform the concerto with the Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra at the “Celebration of Young Artists” Concert, which will be held in Sooke on October 30 and in Victoria on October 31, 2010. Phillip also won a $500 prize courtesy of Long & McQuade. Other laureates include pianist Grace Ma (second prize), saxophonist Hanjie Bai, violinist Jordan Vermes, and pianists Karnsiri Laothamatas and Matthew Stubbs. Details for the 2011 competition will be posted here in the near future.

Meanwhile, in another part of the “competitions and awards” forest, the Cultural Careers Council of Ontario is now calling for nominations for the inaugural Robert Johnston Work in Culture Award, to be presented annually to an individual who has demonstrated a tenacious commitment to furthering human resources development in the cultural sector in Ontario, as a manager, mentor, supporter or educator. The Award is named in honour of Robert Johnston, long-standing (and now retired) Executive Director of Cultural Careers Council Ontario. The Award is open to individuals (artists and administrators) who have contributed a minimum of 10 years of professional service to the arts and cultural industries, and the deadline for nominations is June 15, 2010. For more information, please visit CCCO’s website here.

CINARS, the Conférence Internationale des arts de la scène, is presenting three days of workshops on topics related to international touring in Montreal in February.  The workshops will run February 3 to 5, and will cover such topics as International touring: a choice or an artistic necessity?, Market Focus – European Union, and Market Focus – Asia.  To find out more you can visit CINARS’ website here.

For only the second time in its 31 year history, the annual conference of the International Ticketing Association (INTIX) will be held in Canada.  This year’s edition takes place at Toronto’s Sheraton Centre January 26, 27 and 28.  Workshop topics include Training and Maintaining Volunteers; The Ultimate Customer Experience; Legalities of Internet, Copyrights, and Privacy laws – and much, much more.  To learn more, please visit here.

CCI-Ontario, the Ontario Presenters Network, is presenting a Town Hall on Equity and Diversity in the Performing Arts, running from the evening of January 29th to end of day January 30th.  The event will take place at the University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus, and is a collaboration between CCI-O and the Cultural Pluralism in the Performing Arts Movement in Ontario (CPPAMO).  The Town Hall will explore and examine the issues and challenges faced by artists and presenters who seek to engage with main-stream and ethno-racial audiences in their communities. The event will be chaired by Kathleen Sharpe and will feature a keynote address by Ontario College of Art and Design’s Sara Diamond.   Registration is reasonably priced, and you can find out more here.

On Friday, February 19, the Cultural Careers Council of Ontario, in partnership with Genovese Vanderhoof and Associates, will present An Introduction to Income Management: The Development Cycle.  The one-day intensive course will be held at the Wychwood Theatre, Toronto from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and features presentations on marketing and fundraising led by GVA’s senior consultants, along with networking opportunities.  The cost to register is $175, and includes lunch and a wine and cheese reception at the end of the day.  To register, send an email to info@workinculture.ca to reserve a spot, and mail your cheque (payable to Cultural Careers Council Ontario) to 27 Carlton Street, Ste. 303, Toronto, ON M5B 1L2.

The Cultural Careers Council of Ontario is presenting an informal afternoon of HR learning for the arts and culture community on Monday, November 9th, from 12:30 to 4:30. The event will be held in Toronto at the Loop Centre for Lively Arts and Learning, at the Artscape Wychwood Barns, 601 Christie Street, Studio 170.  This year the focus will be HR and the Law and will be especially of interest to managers and administrators of arts organizations. Anne Gallop, partner and labour and employment lawyer at the law firm of Ogilvy Renault, will start with an overview of legal issues in the workplace. Then, in a roundtable format, participants will have an opportunity to hear tips and have discussions on 3 key topics – Termination, Human Rights, and Contracting. Heading the discussions are:

• Shelley Stevenson, Director of HR at The Stratford Shakespeare Festival, speaking about Termination
• Daryl Novak, Director of Operations at the Southern Ontario Library Services, speaking about Human Rights in the Workplace
• Craig Morash, Director of Finance and Operations at Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People, speaking about Contracting.

Cost of the afternoon is $25.00.  To register, send an email to info@workinculture.ca to reserve a spot, and mail your cheque (payable to Cultural Careers Council Ontario) to 27 Carlton Street, Ste. 303, Toronto, ON M5B 1L2.