Orchestras Canada

We’ve recently posted reader reviews of 2 recent book of potential interest to administrators and board members of Canadian orchestras on the OC blog – Jim Collins’s Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos and Luck – Why Some Thrive Despite Them All and Michael M. Kaiser’s Leading Roles – 50 Questions Every Arts Board Should Ask. Our hearty thanks to reviewers Thérèse Boutin of the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières (Collins); Natalie Williams Calhoun of the PEI Symphony Orchestra (Collins); Paul Inksetter of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra (Kaiser); and Catherine Molina of the Guelph Symphony Orchestra (Kaiser) for their work! You can check out their reviews here.

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos and Luck – Why Some Thrive Despite them All by Jim Collins

When Orchestras Canada asked me to review this book, I was thrilled to gain access to something that I might be able to put to work in my new job with the PEI Symphony Orchestra, and potentially in my personal and family life as well. I generally like ‘self help’ books, and was interested to see if and how this book might speak to my own experience.  The subtitle of this book also intrigued me, as we are certainly going through times of uncertainty and chaos in the arts world – not to mention the world of my family and our life onPEI!

According to his website (http://www.jimcollins.com/), Jim Collins is a student of enduring and great companies.  He’s written several previous books, including the bestsellers Good to Great and Built to Last.

I was concerned, when I started Great by Choice, that I might need to have read his previous books to fully benefit.  In truth this didn’t really become a problem until the epilogue, in which the research findings in this book were compared with those that inspired his previous books.

Overall, the book is easy to digest, only occasionally dry enough to induce sleep, and generally quite entertaining. Collins compares pairs of companies in the same business, one of which was a huge winner in the period of time studied, and one of which faltered.  He then considers what might have contributed to the success of the “winning” companies vs. their comparison companies. His approach is data-driven, and some of it is a bit dry–but there are also comparisons against real life situations (as much as climbingMt.Everest or journeying to the South Pole can be real life), which I found very interesting. And each chapter has a closing summary, which means that you can easily get the gist of the chapter if you’d lost your way earlier.

I don’t think that Jim Collins has come up with any earth shaking revelations.  Instead, he’s summed up a few universal messages in a single location:  great companies are led by great leaders who are willing to take calculated risks AND plod steadily through life with long term success on their minds. I enjoyed the concept of “productive paranoia”:  stockpiling resources for times when things might be leaner than you would like, while still making sure you research and produce new products to keep your organization ahead of those around you. I also enjoyed the concept of the “20 MileMarch”:  by putting one foot in front of the other, day by day, month by month, and consistently executing regardless of the conditions encountered, you will always see progress. A good metaphor for my New Year’s weight loss resolutions as well!

Natalie Williams Calhoun

Administrator,PEISymphony Orchestra

Natalie Williams Calhoun is a cellist, Administrator of the PEI Symphony Orchestra, and a recent arrival toPrince Edward Island.  She is mother to 3 year old Lucas, a private music teacher in theCharlottetownarea, and moonlights as an examiner for the Royal  Conservatory of Music.

The PEI Symphony Orchestra launched its 44th season this past weekend, with a celebration of Women in Music. The program included works by female composers, including Joan Tower, Paule Maurice, Cecile Chaminade, PEI composer Jane Naylor and Island singer-songwriter Meaghan Smith, and featured soloists Morgan Saulnier and Kevin MacLean. The program was led by PEISO music director James Mark, and it kicks off a five concert offering by the PEISO this year, including four of its own programs as well as a concert by the touring National Arts Centre Orchestra, led by Julian Kuerti. As our note from PEISO VP Dan Rowswell noted, “this new season will highlight six soloists, three guest ensembles, two PEI composers, and two world premiere performances over five concerts.”

For more information about the orchestra, please visit peisymphony.com.

The PEI Symphony Orchestra has announced the appointment of Natalie Williams Calhoun as its new Administrator. A busy professional cellist and teacher, Ms. Williams Calhoun has a Bachelor of Music in Violoncello Performance from the University of British Columbia and a Masters of Music from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. She is currently dividing her time between her administrative role with the PEISO, teaching with the Senior Division of the Singing Strings Orchestra in Charlottetown, and freelance orchestral and chamber performance in Atlantic Canada.

Hearty congratulations to Dale Godsoe, winner of the Symphony Nova Scotia’s 2011 Concertmaster Award. The award, which is presented to an individual or organization that has made a significant contribution to the well-being of SNS, is in honour of Ms Godsoe’s leadership of the orchestra’s Listen to the Future Endowment Campaign. The campaign, which began in 2008, has raised more than $5 million in cash, pledges, and anticipated matches under Dale’s guidance and leadership. SNS has not, however, been the only beneficiary of her time and wise counsel – as the media release notes, “in addition to her work at Symphony Nova Scotia, Dale has also provided leadership to the National Arts Centre, the United Way, the YWCA of Canada, and the Atlantic Film Festival. She has served as chair of the Vision TV Network and currently chairs the S-VOX Foundation, a foundation developed out of Vision TV that focuses on pluralism within Canada’s faith communities.”

The Canadian Dance Assembly, one of Orchestras Canada’s valued partners in the Performing Arts Alliance, has just appointed Nathalie Fave as its new Executive Director, succeeding Shannon Litzenberger. Ms Fave is a published poet and has a strong background in arts and community organizing.

The Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra has announced the appointment of Yariv Aloni as its new Music Director, following the passing of the much-loved Janos Sandor in the spring of 2010. Mr. Aloni has been Associate Music Director of the GVYO since 2002, and he takes up the reins at a most auspicious time for the orchestra. 2010-11 marks the GVYO’s 25th anniversary season (chock full, as the orchestra’s sprightly newsletter reports, with “über-kool” repertoire), and will also mark the launch of “A Work In Progress”, a DVD describing a season in the life of a youth orchestra.

Annette Campbell, who has served as General Manager of the PEI Symphony Orchestra for the past five years, will be leaving that role at the end of the summer to take up a new position as Programs/Communications Officer with the PEI Council of the Arts. We wish Annette all the best in her new endeavours.

The Okanagan Symphony has announced the appointment of Scott Wilson to the role of OSO General Manager, succeeding Caroline Miller. Mr. Wilson has served as Director of Operations at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for the past six years; prior to that, he had a long and distinguished career in the TSO horn section.

Members of the PEI Symphony Orchestra are thrilled to be joining acclaimed Canadian soprano Measha Brueggergosman at the Indian River Festival this summer.  The concert will be on Sunday, August 23rd at 7:30 pm and will feature a chamber orchestra version of the PEISO.  It promises to be a summer event not to be missed.  Tickets are available on the Indian River Festival website here or by calling the Box Office toll free at 1-866-856-3733.