Vermont ACDA
Board Meeting Minutes
Middlebury College
April 13, 2010
download/see original minutes (.doc format)
Members in attendance: Sherrill Blodgett, Esther Holland, Karen Jordan, Allyson Ledoux, Glory Reinstein, Jeff Rehbach, Dawn Willis, Frank Whitcomb
I. The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by President Frank Whitcomb.
II. Children’s Choir Festival: Susan Cherry called in to make her report. The festival was a success and Christine Jordanoff was pleased with the results. 50 participation fees were collected with 10 more expected. One school had a last minute cancellation but did not ask for a refund. Audience consisted mainly of parents, with a few townspeople. The local paper covered the event which may have resulted in a slightly larger audience. $732 was collected at the door; this was a slightly larger amount than in previous years.
Frank attended and reported that the conductor and repertoire were wonderful. The current festival statement shows a $731 loss; some of the bills have not yet been received. A suggestion was made to print a more formal program, similar to those at the Eastern conference. Next year the participation fee might include the meal cost, rather than keeping them as separate fees.
III. Financial Report: Frank reported that we currently have $5,406.45 in checking and $773.80 in savings for a total of $6180.25. There are a few remaining children’s choir festival expenses to be paid and the $500 scholarship which will be given out in May.
IV. Membership update: Frank stated that our current membership numbers are higher than they have been in recent years. Former members have rejoined and Castleton State students have joined. He encouraged members to continue to recruit colleagues across the state.
IV. List Serve: The question has risen about whether non-members should be taken off of the list serve. The service is part of membership.
V. Website: Jeff demonstrated an example of what our updated website might look like with sound capabilities and pictures. It could have lists of choirs in the state as well as links to members groups’ websites. Jeff demonstrated some of the technical aspects of the site, including charts which showed which areas had how many hits, and when those areas were accessed.
VI. Conferences: Honors Choir applications for the Chicago National Conference are due by May 1st. Frank noted that the president elect normally attends the Leadership Conference. Sherrill is the only member who has shown interest in the position. The board agreed to fund her trip to the conference.
VII. VMEA: Both Dawn and Frank submitted ACDA related articles to the VMEA publication. It was noted that as an affiliate organization, we have access to the VMEA membership list. This could aid in our recruitment effort.
VIII. Free memberships: Several people were nominated to receive free ACDA memberships. The hope is that the new members might continue after their free year.
IX. Upcoming Concerts: Dawn encouraged members to attend the Cantabile Men’s and Women’s Choir with Bella Voce on Friday, April 16. Bella Voce will also perform on May 15 and 16 with Kaleidoscope from EHS.
X. R & S:
a. Frank noted that R & S reports are due May 1st. An online report form can be found at http://www.acda.org.
b. Worship: Lori Routhier was not in attendance. No report was given.
c. Student Chapters: Esther has emailed local colleges, but has received few responses.
d. Collegiate: Esther spoke to Castleton students and handed out materials. Various activities were discussed including providing workshops geared toward college students, as well as providing a forum for college ACDA members to get together. The current college fee is $35. Sessions at the conference might be interesting to non-majors as well.
e. Boys Choirs: CCS boys were asked to open for a “Ball in the House” performance. Allyson currently has 18 4th graders and 24 5th and 6th graders singing. She suggested a day long workshop which would feature music for boys’ choirs and will investigate the possibilities of creating an event.
f. Women’s Choirs: Dawn spoke about the project to commission new works for women’s choirs.
XI. Community Choir Festival: The festival was canceled due to a lack of participating choirs. It was suggested that choirs need more notice in order to prepare for a festival and to include it in their calendar. Sherrill will send out an email to solicit conductors for possible dates for next year and plans to use the same conductor and repertoire. Possible sites were discussed, with a focus to keep the location central for ease of travel.
XII. Madrigal Festival: Glory has contacted a possible conductor. She will poll the regular participants about possible dates and then will find out the availability of the church. The date will then be posted to the website.
XIII. Frank noted that Sherrill Blodgett is the only member who has stepped forward as a President-Elect candidate. The board approved funding her attendance at the June ACDA Leadership conference.
XIV. September Conference: Frank suggested forming a committee to flesh out a plan for the conference. He will send out an email invitation to a planning session.
XV. The meeting was adjourned at 7:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Jordan
Vermont ACDA 