Orchestras Canada

Hill Strategies Research is a Canadian company that specializes in applying social science research methods to the arts sector.

Hill Strategies created the Arts Research Monitor, which provides synopses of qualitative and quantitative research findings in the arts and culture. The Monitor can be browsed by topics and makes it easy for  artists, arts managers, funders, policy makers, researchers and others to find the research information that they need.

Hill Strategies also provides the Statistical Insights on the Arts series (statistical reports), presentations based on research findings and a newsletter.

Link: Hill Strategies Research

We’ve got a pair of recommendations this week – and a renewed request.

First of all, we’d like to share a series of reports and presentations that arts researcher Kelly Hill has prepared at the request of Orchestras Canada and with the support of the Ontario Arts Investment Fund. Kelly’s analysis of the Financial Condition of 50 Canadian Orchestras, 2004/05 to 2009/10 and 2004/05 to 2010/11 (and the associated presentations that he gave, at our request, via webinar AND live at our national meeting in Montreal in May 2012) are now available on the Hill Strategies Research website, here.

Secondly, we’d like to draw your attention to a provocative paper by arts researcher and thinker Alan S. Brown. To whet your appetite, here’s a taste: “Among the subtlest but most important shifts in patterns of cultural participation is the increased importance and meaning that consumers attach to the settings in which they engage in creative activities. The implications for arts presenters and the venues, spaces and facilities they use are significant. Future generations will not ascribe the same importance to permanent venues with fixed seating and fixed staging. In order to remain relevant, arts presenters and producers must radically re-conceptualize the relationships between their programs and their spaces in order to reach younger and more diverse audiences.” Intrigued? Terrified? Wondering what it might mean for symphony orchestras? Read more, here.

Finally, we’re still looking for nominations for your “must-visit” arts news websites, blogs, etcetera. We’re assembling the ultimate orchestral blog roll – and we need your help. Simply comment on this article, and we’ll make a note of your recommendation. Thanks!

Between Sunday, May 27 and Tuesday, May 29, over ninety people representing Canadian orchestras from St. John’s NF to Nanaimo BC gathered in Montréal for Orchestras Canada/Orchestres Canada’s national orchestra meetings – 48 hours of concentrated learning, peer exchange and artistic appreciation. The event was co-hosted by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and the Carmelle and Rémi Marcoux Chair in Arts Management at HEC Montréal, and – between the generosity and formidable resources of our hosts, the hospitality shown to us by the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres de Québec (CALQ) and the Conseil des Arts de Montréal, the consistently high standard of the presentations, the transparency and power of the OSM’s sound in the new Maison symphonique, the generosity of our partners in government, corporate sponsors, and foundation and individual donors, the sheer fascination exerted by our host city, and the reliable joy of once again sharing the air with true colleagues – a splendid time was had by all.

Many of the sessions were recorded, and over the coming weeks, OC’s summer student Mike Romaniak will be editing the recordings, synching them to the PowerPoint slides, and posting them on OC’s YouTube channel. We’ll keep you up to date on the latest!

While many, many people went beyond the call of duty in making all of this possible, Orchestras Canada/Orchestres Canada particularly wants to recognize:

The team at the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal – Mmes Madeleine Careau and Melanie La Couture, and – of course – Maestro Kent Nagano, whose presentation to the group on Tuesday morning was a highlight

The faculty and staff of the Chair in Arts Management at HEC Montréal, with particular thanks to Francois Colbert, Holder of the Carmelle and Rémi Marcoux Chair in Arts Management, who generously supported our quest to partner with HEC Montréal on the conference, and Dr. Wendy Reid, who invested untold hours to ensure that our program was rich in intellectual content, that we heard about HEC faculty’s latest research on relevant topics, and that our dealings with the school were pleasant in all ways.

Our guest speakers: Kelly Hill of Hill Strategies Research; Dr. Robert Flanagan, professor of Labour Economics at Stanford University; Bob Fraser, bass trombonist of the Victoria Symphony and secretary of the Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians; Stephen Huddart, CEO of the J.W. McConnell Foundation; Robert Sirman, director of the Canada Council for the Arts; Maestro Kent Nagano; Kelly Rice of CBC Radio; and breakout session guests Denise Ball, Robert Rowat and Steve Pratt from CBC; Frédéric Massé, Heenan Blaikie, Labour and Employment Law Group; and Cossette Communications.

Members of our group who led or facilitated break-out sessions for their peers: Trudy Schroeder, Erika Beatty, Vicki Young, Leanne Davis, Mitchell Krieger, Marie-Anne Perreault, Elizabeth Aman-Hume.

Volunteers from HEC Montréal, who assisted with everything from package stuffing to registration to note taking.

A particular feature this year was a parallel gathering for education and community engagement staff of Canadian orchestras, made possible by a visionary foundation partner. This intrepid group met for a day and a half for a program that explored such topics as diverse audiences, using technology to further orchestra’s music education programs, collaborations and partnerships, evaluation, and network development. This part of the program was designed and facilitated by Dr. Diana Dansereau, Assistant Professor of Music Education at Boston University, and it featured guests from a range of artistic disciplines. In the coming weeks, we’ll be working through some of the implications of the meeting, including the all-important work of building on the nascent network that started so well in Montréal.

Finally, a word of thanks to the funders and sponsors who made it all possible:

Canada Council for the Arts
Department of Canadian Heritage
An anonymous foundation donor
Great West Life – London Life – Canada Life
Dr. George Freundlich
Coffee break sponsors: Agence Station Bleue, L’Arsenal à Musique, Cowan Insurance, Domoney Artists Management, Long and McQuade

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.

This report examines the situation of 50 Canadian orchestras based on Orchestras Canada member surveys from 2004-05 through 2009-10. The survey covers orchestras’ revenues, expenses, surplus or deficit situations, performances, attendance, and endowment funds. Orchestras Canada checked the information submitted for accuracy against the orchestras’ financial statements and corresponded with orchestra managers when information was unclear.

The report was prepared by Hill Strategies Research for Orchestras Canada in April 2012.

Link: Financial and Statistical Analysis of 50 Canadian Orchestras: 2004-05 to 2009-10

We’ve just posted a brand new and very important piece of original research on our website: an analysis of 6 years of data from fifty different Canadian orchestras, gathered through Orchestras Canada’s annual comparative report (2004-05 to 2009-10). The analysis was undertaken by Kelly Hill of Hill Strategies Research – and we think it’s an important and (in some cases) eye-opening piece of research. You can find it here.

This week, we hope to finalize the program and schedule for the National Orchestras meetings in Montreal, May 27-29. Registration will go live next week!
Please check here for more details, as they become available.

For reasons that are too boring to list, we have a new fax number – and it’s toll-free, too! If you’d like to send us a fax, you can now do so at 1-866-538-0769.

Hill Strategies Research has just released the latest in its invaluable series of reports, largely drawn from Statistics Canada research, and this one – devoted to cultural participation by Canadians in 2010 – advises that Canadians’ participation in arts, culture and heritage activities reached record levels in 2010.

Among the highlights:

• All Canadians participated in an arts, culture or heritage activity in 2010
• 72.4% attended a performing arts event or a cultural festival in 2010.
• 73.8% visited a heritage venue (including historic sites, zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, planetariums, observatories, conservation areas and nature parks) in 2010.
• 97.5% read a newspaper, magazine or book in 2010.
• 86.7% listened to downloaded music or music on CDs in 2010.
• 12.6% attended a symphonic or classical music performance (3.5 million people).

You can read more here.

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

This one-hour webinar  highlights 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.

This webinar by Kelly Hill was presented thee times by the Performing Arts Alliance, on February 2, 6, and 7, 2012. Kelly Hill’s presentation was 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.

Participants Evaluation:

“Very nice of someone else to sift through the statistics that are relevant to how and where I should put my effort in.”
“I really appreciated being reminded to think of “different” venues for arts events and to link up with these for shows.”

Links:

• Recording of the webinar

• Kelly Hill’s presentation

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!