Our final Podium for 2011Issue 5 of The Podium heralds the close of a busy year. Since the last issue, the big event on our calendar was the 2011 Orchestral Summit. Member and Associate orchestras gathered in Melbourne in early November to network, listen to guest speakers and participate in constituency meetings. This was our second Summit and we focused on marketing and development personnel as well as welcoming Artistic Administrators and CEOs. We were delighted to have around 50 delegates present to hear special guest speakers Paul Hogle (Executive Vice President, Detroit Symphony Orchestra) and Frankie Airey (Director, Philanthropy Squared). In response to feedback from last year’s Summit we increased the “face time” with these experts by including presentation formats as well as interactive workshops and running the event over two days. More details on their presentations can be found on our website or by clicking here. I would like to offer thanks to our supporters KPMG Melbourne and the Australia Council for their assistance in making the Summit such a success. Delegates split into four separate groups for their constituency meetings – CEOs, Marketing, Development and Artistic Administration. Notes on the outcomes of these meetings can be found here. All groups found the opportunity to mingle with their colleagues from around the country extremely useful and some spirited discussions were held. In keeping with the focus on development issues in the 2011 Summit, Gordon Williams has put together a fascinating piece on philanthropy in both Australia and particularly the United States, where he is based. There are many similarities but of course differences too, and Gordon has travelled the country to examine the situation there and to interview some leaders in the area. Click here to read Gordon’s article. Vi King Lim, Library Manager, presented a paper at the Conference of the Australian branch of IAML (International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres) at the National Library of Australia, Canberra on 25 November. His presentation entitled 'The Symphony Services Music Library: from private radio orchestra collection to public orchestral community resource' looked at the evolution of the SSML’s vast collection of print music from the early years of the ABC in the 1930s as the Federal Music Library to the National Music Library in the 1990s and 2000s. The paper will be available online in the near future on both the SSI and IAML Australia websites. I’d like to take this opportunity on behalf of all of the staff of Symphony Services International to wish you a happy and safe festive season. I’ll look forward to seeing many of you in 2012.
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Kate LidbetterForeign Correspondence
Noblesse oblige — arts philanthropy in US classical music
You have only to walk a few blocks in many places in the US to get a sense of the scale of philanthropy here. Just pick a city. In Charleston, for example, within a five-minute walk, you can pass the Karpeles Manuscript Museum, Charles P. Darby Children’s Research Center, and Stiles and Virginia Harper Student Services Center...In Savannah, you can stand inside the Richard and Judy Eckburg Atrium, the impressive entranceway to the Jepson Center, one of the Telfair Museums of Art. Philanthropy is pervasive. Sponsorship also is part of life. Is everything sponsored? Read More >>
Featured Orchestra — Darwin Symphony Orchestra
Darwin Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is one of the youngest orchestras in Australia, as well as one of the most adventurous. Founded by Associate Professor Martin Jarvis, DSO gave its first concert in 1989 and began a tradition of hitting the road and taking music across the Territory. Since then, the DSO has performed in numerous remote locations and has managed to reach a higher proportion of its local population than almost any other orchestra in Australia.
Comprising passionate volunteers who work and live in the same communities for which they perform, DSO values accessibility, vibrancy and community involvement.
Under the artistic leadership of innovative conductor and composer Dr Leif Sundstrup, the DSO has continued to develop and is sounding better than ever. With a professional core and more than 60 volunteer players, the DSO has a unique dynamic that contributes to the organisation’s vibrancy and its links to the community.
The DSO concert experience is known to audiences as engaging and fun, with players able to enjoy the excitement of performing in front of family and friends. In a given year the DSO will perform four indoor performances, three outdoor performances, four family concerts and undertake two tours to remote areas of the Northern Territory. An individual member of the orchestra will donate in excess of 250 hours annually to provide quality live music performances to our community.
What's New in the Library
There are now over twenty Goodear Editions available for hire or purchase including favourites from the symphonic repertoire such as Ravel’s Tzigane for violin and orchestra and the Dance of the Knights from Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet. Several popular arias from Puccini’s opera Turandot have recently been published including “Nessun dorma”, “Non piangere, Liù” and “Signore, ascolta”. Our scores and parts are prepared to the highest quality, printed on beautiful cream-coloured paper, reinforced with cardboard covers, and spiral-bound for quiet page-turns. Visit Symphony Services International’s website today and discover the full range of Goodear Editions at http://symphonyinternational.net/products/scores/.
Join the online Library Forums for free! We’re inviting members of the general public to participate in the general forums where you can ask our expert staff how to locate a particular piece of music, everything you wanted to know about copyright but were too afraid to ask, or anything you might need for your orchestra or ensemble. You’ll find tips and tricks to being an orchestral librarian in our Music Librarianship 101 thread and you can announce and promote your upcoming concerts as well. In short, the Library Forums are a great way to share your resources and to connect with the orchestral community. If you’d like to join, contact Emily at hire@symphonyinternational.net.
Top Tip
Hiring a Consultant
Getting the right consultant for your project is paramount in achieving success. Put together a clear and concise brief including a project description, budget, travel plan, consultation expectations, stakeholders and time-frame. Shortlist 5-10 consultants with knowledge of your area and appropriate expertise (e.g. strategic planning, finance, fundraising etc.). Involve your board in the selection process. Once the consultant is selected, prepare a contract laying out your expectations, details on what will happen if it all goes pear-shaped, and a payment timeframe. Large-budget consultancies will need to follow a more stringent tender process.
And of course, you can visit http://symphonyinternational.net/consultants-and-advice/ to read about Symphony Services International’s consultancy brokerage service to make it all a bit easier!Speed Read: Articles worth looking into
Some cheery stories this time.
The Metropolitan Opera reports a 50% increase on last year’s donations:
Classical music’s spread:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-11/26/c_131270822.htm
Oman opens first opera house in the Gulf:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=oman-opens-first-opera-house-in-gulf-2011-10-13
Another development:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/dec/01/when-pop-meets-classical-prokofievAbout Us
Symphony Services International, formerly Symphony Australia, has for many years been orchestrating excellence in Australia. Supporting the ABC Symphony Australia Young Performers Awards and setting international benchmarks with the Conductor Development program, we also hold the southern hemisphere’s largest classical print music library, offer over 3,500 program notes and take the headache out of tour management. Now all members of the global orchestral community can benefit from our products and services, assisting orchestras and classical musicians to perform at their best. Back to top
