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.

Collins, Jim and Hansen, Morten T. (2011). Great by Choice. New York: Harper Collins.

I don’t, as a rule, like recipe books unless they deal with food… and this book is no exception.   The word “recipe” first appears on page 128 and is used repeatedly in the last 50 pages of the book.  Of the 304 pages, at least 120 are dedicated to references, an index, “frequently asked questions” and “research foundations”.

After the first ten pages, I had enough.  But I laboured through until the end, having promised to deliver a book review by the New Year.  When I am given homework, I do it![1]

So, what is this book about?  Great by Choice is a comparison of 7 companies that succeeded (what Jim Collins called “10xers”) and 7 “comparison” companies that didn’t, based on three criteria:   the winners sustained 15 years of spectacular results relative to the stock market and the industry in general; these results were achieved in spite of a turbulent environment (for example 9/11); and finally, the rise to greatness is closely associated to the businesses’ vulnerability because of their size or age.  The authors write having sifted through documents of 20,400 companies to identify the winners and the losers.  Good empirical research, in short.

And what are the ingredients in this so-called “recipe” for greatness?  Discipline with a fair dosage of creativity; scaled innovation; good decisions (and not necessarily fast ones); stability; paranoia; and yes, luck.  At the centre, sits what the authors call “level 5 ambition”… and you have to have read Collins’ other best-sellers to know what that means.

The stories and anecdotes are numerous and interesting, from the adventures of Roald Amundsen who first reached the South Pole to Bill Gates’s paranoid memos to his staff.  They talk of performance, intelligence and friendship, necessary ingredients to attain success, be it personal or company-wide.

I did not like the book but it doesn’t mean it’s not a good one.  If as a manager you tend to be inspired by empirical research summarized in very digestible language, with clear illustrations and extensive references, then go for it.  You’ll be well-served if you invest a few hours to see how others have beaten the odds because they were strategic, disciplined and creative (as well as lucky and possessed of good timing).

As for me, I have left the book on a public bench for someone else to pick up.

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.

Congratulations to Thérèse Boutin, directrice générale of the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières (and member of the Orchestras Canada board as well), who has just been re-elected to the role of Treasurer of the Conseil québécois de la musique for a second term.

We send our thanks and farewell to Brenda Sherring, who has served as Interim Executive Director of the Regina Symphony during Executive Director Natasha Bood’s maternity leave. Brenda’s last day with the RSO is October 8. Brenda notes that “Natasha will return from her leave on October 12th and will assist with the international recruitment of a permanent Executive Director. The Board expects to have their search complete, and someone in place, by the end of January. I have very much enjoyed my experience working with the orchestra. It has been both challenging and rewarding and, in that way, has kept my energy alive!”

Congratulations to conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni, appointed earlier this week as Music Director of the Columbus Symphony. Maestro Zeitouni, age 36, is currently principal guest conductor of Les Violons du Roy (with whom he has made three critically-acclaimed recordings of 20th century repertoire) and regularly guest conducts orchestras and opera companies across North America.

Congratulations to Canadian composers Richard Gibson, Eileen Padgett, Suzanne Hébert Tremblay, John Palmer and Arsenio Girón, each of whom had substantial new works read by the National Arts Centre Orchestra (conducted by Gary Kulesha) in public performances at the NAC earlier this month.

Mme. Thérèse Boutin, Directrice generale of the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivieres, has been elected as chair of the governing board of the Conservatoire de musique de Trois-Rivières. As well, she continues her work as vice chair of the board of Orchestras Canada, treasurer of the Conseil québécois de la musique and member of the planning committee for the Trois-Rivières Chamber of Commerce.

The National Arts Centre Orchestra has announced the retirement of Principal Librarian Margo Hodgson and Assistant Librarian Greg Hodgson, effective at the end of the 2009-10 season. As NACO artistic administrator Daphne Burt noted in her tribute, they “have transformed the Orchestra library into a perfectly tuned machine. Members of the NAC Orchestra and music director Pinchas Zukerman realize that Margo and Greg set the gold standard of library work. They will be sorely missed.” At the same time, NACO has announced the appointment of their successors: Nancy Elbeck, principal librarian; and Corey Rempel, assistant librarian. Ms Elbeck comes to the NAC Orchestra from both the Hamilton Philharmonic and the Buffalo Philharmonic, where she was principal librarian and assistant librarian, respectively. Mr. Rempel originally trained as a tubist, and has been the librarian of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra for the past year. The new team begins work at the end of August.

On Tuesday, June 22, Orchestras Canada’s chair Ann Lewis-Luppino (President and CEO of the Calgary Philharmonic) presided over our Annual General Meeting for the 2009-10 fiscal year during our national meetings in Winnipeg.

Members heard reports and updates from a number of people – and here are some highlights!

The Money
Treasurer Cathryn Gregor (Chief Operating Officer of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra) reported that OC is in good shape financially, ending the year with a surplus of $9624 on an expense budget of $343,747.

The People
Vice Chair and Chair of the Nominating Committee Thérèse Boutin (Directrice générale of the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières) reported on the work of this centrally important committee and presented a slate for the 2010-11 season, which was approved. She thanked outgoing board member Tricia Baldwin (Managing Director of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra) for her contributions to the organization during her term on the board, and welcomed Bryan Croft (General Manager of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra) to the board for his first term.

The Annual Report and audited financial statements for the year are posted here.